Last weekend’s dual match with Michigan St. saw the Bowling Green tennis team looking to overcome a couple of injuries.
This weekend saw a similar storyline play out as the Falcons went into Fort Wayne, Ind. to play Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.
This time the Falcons could only send out four players for the dual, conceding the fifth and six singles matches along with the third doubles flight.
IPFW took full advantage of the depleted Falcons as they started BGSU freshmen Emily Witt and Sydney Seele, sophomores Leeah Floyd and Antonina Farrar.
All are first-year players, with three of them joining the team at the start of the spring semester.
Witt jumped into the top flight for the first time in her career, going against IPFW’s number one Mayu Sato the reigning Summit League Player of the Year.
Witt took an early lead in the second set.
Sato would get the final say however with the score line in her favor 6-3, 6-2.
The rest of the Falcons in action, also in the highest flights of their careers, saw a similar ending.
Floyd in second flight action with Sofia Sorokina went down 6-2, 6-2, Farrar dropped by Ella Norgren 6-2, 6-1, and Seeley downed by Emily Richardson 6-0, 6-0.
With the other flights conceded, the Mastodons only needed one point in the remaining two doubles matches.
They got that point in the second flight doubles match, when the IPFW duo of Alina Schibol and Sara Sherif downed the Falcon duo of Farrar and Seeley 6-1.
The first flight doubles, with Floyd and Witt taking on Sato and Marcy Huck, was halted after the first set 5-1 win by IPFW.
The competitive spirit shown by the young Falcons was huge in the eyes of head coach Olga Elkin.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Emily, Leeah Nina, and Syd,” said head coach Olga Elkin. “They work super hard and have never once complained, and have improved so much from day one from the hard work they have put in.”
With a couple weeks’ time to rest until their next match on Mar. 15, the Falcons will look to prepare but more importantly recover.
“We have a few weeks off between matches now,” said Elkin. “We will use that time to rest up and hopefully get healthy enough to get back to having a full lineup.”
