The Falcons are traveling to Toledo for their third tournament of the season this weekend after capturing four titles at the BGSU Invitational, but have now been out of competition for three weeks.
“I think the long break gave the team a chance to brush up on our games and drill the things that we really needed to work on,” said junior Emily Reuland. “It gave us a chance to practice what we need to improve for MAC season. Our practices are competitive and we are all good practice partners that work hard for each other in order to better the whole team.”
The Rocket Hidden Duals will be a two-day, four-team event consisting of BG, the University of Detroit Mercy, Duquesne University and host, Toledo. Play will start at 10 a.m. both Friday and Saturday.
The invite will utilize a hidden dual format where players will be grouped into A (flights 1 through 3) and B (flights 4 through 6) singles brackets. BG will be competing against each of the three schools in both singles and doubles competition.
“I am looking forward to the fact that it is a hidden dual format,” said junior Nikki Chiricosta. “While it is not necessarily a team event, it feels much more like a dual match and it’s an exciting preview to see how we will fare against these teams in the spring.”
Although dual-match scores will not be kept, a point system will be used. The team winning two of the three matches in any of the competitions will earn a point. Flight champions will also be recognized at all six singles positions as well as the three doubles flights.
“I expect each person on the team to improve from the level they played in our last event,” said Head Coach Penny Dean. “The goal of the fall is to keep improving and get to a high level and then continue that in the dual matches.”
After three tournaments, Reuland and Chiricosta rank 1-2 on the Falcons in wins and are feeling confident going into the Rocket Invitational. Reuland has a record of 12-2 overall and won both the singles and doubles championships at the BGSU Invitational. Reuland’s doubles partner, Chiricosta, is 11-2 with a singles and doubles championship as well. Freshman Katie Brozovich has also posted double digit victories with a 10-5 record.
“I definitely have some momentum after coming off some good wins at the BG invite,” Chiricosta said. “However, I will be facing tough competition so I have to be ready.”
In the past Rocket Hidden Duals, the Falcons have had great success. Last year, seniors Maddy Eccleston and Katie Grubb, as well as Reuland each won singles championships. The past two years the team has finished with the most team points overall.
Following the Toledo Invitational, the Falcons will close out their fall portion of the schedule November 9-11, with a trip to Kalamazoo, Mich., for the Western Michigan University Super Challenge.
