April 23, 2008

CLEVELAND, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - Bowling Green State University freshman Christine Chiricosta has been named the Mid-American Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week, the conference office announced on Wednesday (April 23). Chiricosta earns the honor for the first time in her Falcon career.

Chiricosta, a native of Avon Lake, Ohio (Avon Lake H.S.), earned the award after winning at both singles and doubles in the Falcons' lone match last week, a 5-2 loss to MAC champion Western Michigan on Saturday (April 19).

Chiricosta downed WMU's Priyanka Parekh in straight sets at the number-two singles flight, losing a total of just six games (6-2, 6-4). Parekh, last week's MAC P-O-W, had entered the match with seven consecutive singles victories, and was 6-1 in conference play before Saturday's loss to Chiricosta.

In doubles, Chiricosta teamed with junior Kelsey Jakupcin for an 8-6 win over Western's top doubles team of Parekh and Kerstin Pahl.

On the year, Chiricosta has a team-leading 44 overall wins, tied for the sixth-highest total in BGSU history. She is 21-7 in singles, and finished MAC regular-season play with a 5-3 mark at the number-two flight.

In doubles, she has a 23-7 record to date, and teamed with Jakupcin to go 5-3 in league regular-season doubles action. Chiricosta's total of 23 doubles wins ties her for sixth on the school single-season list.

Chiricosta's award marks the third MAC P-O-W honor for the Falcons this year. Jakupcin is a two-time winner this season (Jan. 23 and Feb. 13).

The Falcons are 15-4 in dual-match play, and head coach Penny Dean's team finished the regular season with a 4-4 MAC record. The Falcons, the fifth seed for the nine-team MAC Championships, will meet fourth-seeded Eastern Michigan University in Friday's (April 25) quarterfinal round. That match will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the Ellicott Tennis Center in Buffalo, N.Y.