The BG tennis team opened Mid-American Conference play against Western Michigan University on Saturday.
The Falcons were down early but rallied to a 4-3 victory. With the help of sophomore Katie Brozovich, senior Nikki Chiricosta broke the school record for doubles victories, which was previously set by her sister Christine Chiricosta. Chiricosta and Brozovich then won their singles matches.
Nikki’s singles win broke the record for career wins at BG now with 179 wins another record that was set by Christine when she recorded 178 wins when she played for BG from 2008-2011.
Head coach Penny Dean said she is happy for Chiricosta to break the records.
“She is such a fighter, and has a never-say-die attitude,” Dean said. “She’s been struggling a little bit in singles lately, and may have been starting to put a little bit of pressure on herself, but we knew this day would come soon, and we’re very happy for her.”
In Nikki’s match against Hawkins, the senior defeated Hawkins 6-2 in the first set, but then lost 6-2 in the second set. Nikki bounced back in the third set, recording a 6-0 victory and gave BG the overall point.
Brozovich won a thriller against Meika Ashby as she lost the first set 6-3, but she battled back to win the second set 6-4. With the set tied at five games, Brozovich had the match point on several occasions, but Ashby fought back every single time to keep the match going. Ashby then made it 5-4 but Brozovich won two straight to win the match and give the falcons the overall win.
“This was a great win,” said Dean. “We are a young team, and were probably the underdog today, as Western was picked higher in the league.”
Dean has hope for Brozovich.
“There were so many momentum swings within sets, and even within games. But, KB is all heart, and she is a great person to have on the court when you need to win that last point,” Dean said.
With the win the Falcons improve to 6-4 and the Broncos drop to 11-6.
The Falcons will head to Toledo next weekend to face the Rockets on March 28 before traveling to Michigan to face Eastern Michigan March 29. Both matches are set to start at 1 p.m.
