MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week
Nikki Chiricosta, Bowling Green – Junior, Avon Lake, Ohio (Avon Lake High School)
Bowling Green junior Nikki Chiricosta was a perfect 4-0 last week as the Falcons won a pair of matches to run their winning streak to five. Chiricosta won all four of her matches by relatively lopsided scores. On Saturday, Chiricosta teamed with classmate Emily Reuland for an 8-0 win against Youngstown State at No. 2 doubles. Then, she lost only four total games in a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Marta Burak at the second singles flight. On Sunday against Evansville, Chiricosta played at the No. 1 flight in both singles and doubles. She and Reuland posted an 8-1 win in doubles, and she then thrashed Natasha James, 6-2, 6-0 in singles play. Bowling Green won both matches by 6-1 scores.
On the season, Chiricosta has an overall record of 33-11, leading the team in wins. Her 15-5 singles record is the best on the Falcons, as is her 18-6 doubles mark. Just a junior, Chiricosta already ranks 15th in school history in career singles wins, with 66. She is 14th all-time at the school with 65 doubles victories, and her career total of 131 combined wins ties her for 12th at Bowling Green. The Falcons are 5-1 this season, and Bowling Green has won five consecutive matches after a season-opening loss on the road against No. 19 Notre Dame.
Additional Nominees:
Angelina Jogasuria, Akron – Senior, Serpong, Indonesia (St. John’s High School)
Akron senior Angelina Jogasuria closed out last week with an overall record of 3-1 (2-0 singles, 1-1 doubles). She teamed with Prang Pantusart to tally a pair of wins over nationally-ranked doubles competitors. On Friday, that duo defeated the 26th-ranked Missouri team of Cierra Gaytan-Leach and Elisha Gabb, 9-7, and on Sunday took down the 45th-ranked Princeton pair of Lindsay Graff and Amanda Muliawan, 8-7 (4). Jogasuria earned a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles over Gabb, and lost 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Princeton's Katherine Flanigan at the third flight on Sunday.
Courtney Earnest, Ball State – Freshman, Lexington, Ohio (Lexington High School)
Ball State freshman Courtney Earnest continued to remain undefeated over the weekend improving her overall record to 6-0 and posting straight set victories at Wright State and Dayton Friday. Earnest did not give up a game in either match winning 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 3 position. She helped the Cardinals improve to 5-1 on the season which is the best start for Ball State since 2007-08.
Tanvi Shah, Buffalo – Junior, Mumbai, India
Buffalo junior Tanvi Shah won at first doubles and first singles as the Bulls defeated West Virginia, 6-1 on Sunday afternoon. The victory for Buffalo was its first ever over a school from the Big 12. At first doubles, Shah joined fellow junior Miranda Podlas for an 8-3 victory and at first singles, Shah won her match easily, 6-1, 6-0 in a match that lasted well under an hour. Shah is now 4-3 in singles, including a perfect 3-0 in dual matches and 7-1 at first doubles.