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 went a perfect 4-0 last weekend as the Falcons won a pair of matches to tie the school-record winning streak. Bowling Green defeated Butler and UIC by identical 5-2 scores. The Falcons have won 11 consecutive matches tying the school record. Chiricosta teamed up with fellow junior Emily Reuland for a pair of doubles wins at the top flight, with an 8-2 win vs. Butler and a 9-7 victory against UIC. In singles play, Chiricosta defeated Butler’s Stephanie McLoughlin at the second flight, then topped UIC’s Mariana Palacios, losing just three total games in the latter match (6-0, 6-3). Chiricosta has captured 11 consecutive singles matches, having last lost in the Notre Dame dual on Jan. 18. Overall (singles and doubles combined), she has won 20 of her last 21 matches. Chiricosta now has a team-best 44-12 overall record this season. Just a junior, she has a total of 142 combined career wins, tying her for eighth in school history. She is deadlocked for 12th at Bowling Green with 72 career singles wins, and is tied for 10th on the doubles chart, with 70 victories as a Falcon.
Additional Nominees:
Courtney Wild, Ball State – Sophomore, Carmel, Ind. (New Braunfels High School)
Ball State sophomore Courtney Wild went 2-0 at No. 1 doubles and No. 1 singles for the weekend helping the Cardinals to post 7-0 sweeps over Aquinas and Oakland. Wild won both her matches in straight sets. Against Aquinas she did not give a game up with 6-0, 5-0 (retired). Wild has won 10 of the last 12 matches at the No. 1 position for the Cardinals improving to 13-3 in dual action.
Tanvi Shah, Buffalo – Junior, Mumbai, India
Buffalo junior Tanvi Shah went 3-1 this past weekend as the Bulls remained undefeated on the season at 9-0 with a pair of wins over Spring Break week. Beginning the week against a very tough Louisiana-Lafayette squad, Shah dropped her first dual doubles match of the season, but came back to win easily at first singles, 6-0, 6-2. Shah's victory helped propel Buffalo to a 4-3 victory. Later in the week, Buffalo swept New Orleans, 7-0, as Shah joined partner Miranda Podlas at first doubles for an easy 8-1 victory. At first singles against the Privateers, Shah won her match, 6-0, 6-2. Shah is now 9-4 on the year, including 8-1 at first singles. She is also 12-2 in doubles, including 8-1 in dual play.
Stephanie McDonald, Northern Illinois – Sophomore, Harare, Zimbabwe
Northern Illinois sophomore Stephanie McDonald went 4-0 on the week with two doubles and two singles victories in a pair of Huskie victories over spring break. Versus Missouri-Kansas City, McDonald and doubles partner Haley Dekkinga were in a dogfight at No. 2 doubles when McDonald took charge of the match, enabling Northern Illinois to pull out an 8-6 win and the doubles point. In her singles match at No. 6, McDonald came back to get the victory after dropping the first set, 4-6. After taking the second set 6-4, she earned the win in the Superset tiebreaker, 10-7. McDonald also earned wins in singles and doubles the next day versus Emporia State as Northern Illinois won its 14th match of the season. McDonald has helped Northern Illinois to a 14-2 record on the season, the most wins posted by a Huskie women's tennis team in 15 seasons. Individually, McDonald is now 12-2 on the year in singles, while she and Dekkinga have compiled an 11-2 mark, primarily at No. 2 doubles.