The BG tennis team closed out the road portion of its schedule over the weekend with a win at Ball State and a loss at then-Mid-American Conference-leading Miami.
The Falcons defeated BSU, 6-1, on Saturday after losing to MU, 6-1, the day before.
With the loss, BG (15-3, 4-3) is knocked out of the running for the MAC regular season crown. MU (12-6, 6-1) was also knocked out of the running after it lost to Western Michigan, who clinched its fourth consecutive MAC regular season title.
The Falcons once again took an early lead in both matches by winning five of the six doubles matches over the weekend.
The Falcons swept all three matches against BSU and took 2-of-3 from MU.
Against the Cardinals, the duos of Kelsey Jakupcin/Christine Chiricosta and Andrea Volle/Jenna Nussbaum both won, 8-4, at the first and second flights, respectively. Libby Harrison stepped in for Sam Kintzel, who is out with an injured foot, and teamed together with Katia Babina to win, 8-6, at the third flight.
“Libby really stepped up to the plate and played well,” said coach Penny Dean. “Katia played very well, too, and made the adjustment of playing with a new partner.”
Harrison was excited about stepping in and helping the team.
“Being able to step up when I’m needed is a great feeling for me, and I know everybody else appreciates it because they can count on me when a situation like that comes up,” she said.
“It’s just a really good feeling to be able to step it up for my team and help them win the match.”
Volle/Nussbaum and Harrison/Babina also won, 8-4 and 8-6, respectively, against the RedHawks the day before.
While the Falcons won the doubles point in both matches, the difference came in singles action. BG won 5-of-6 singles matches – all in two sets – against the Cardinals after losing all six against the RedHawks.
Jakupcin beat BSU’s Sophie Quist, 7-5, 6-1, at the top flight, while Chiricosta and Babina each lost only two games on their way to a second and third-flight win, respectively.
Volle lost only five games in her fifth-flight win, while Harrison won by identical scores of 6-3 at the sixth flight against Katherine Rist to record her first MAC singles dual-match victory of the season.
“It’s great because I work hard throughout the season trying to not only make myself better, but to get my team ready to be at the best level they can be,” said Harrison about her win after being out of the lineup for most of the year.
“I’ve always tried to be prepared because you never know what’s going to happen.”
While the Falcons did get swept by the RedHawks in singles action, Dean said the match was a lot closer than the score indicated as two of the matches went to a third set and one came down to a tiebreaker in the second.
The two matches that went to a third set were Jakupcin’s first-flight match with Anastasia Dracheva and Babina’s third-flight match with Leda Pesatova. Jakupcin lost the third set, 6-0, while Babina lost, 6-3.
Nussbaum’s match at the fourth flight went to a second set tiebreaker. Nussbaum lost the tiebreaker, 7-3.
The Falcons will play their final regular season game this Saturday as WMU comes to town on Senior Day. The match will begin at 1 p.m. at the BG tennis complex.