Air Force ends regular season at New Mexico
4/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
This week: Air Force closes out the regular season at New Mexico on Saturday, April 23, at Noon MT.
Last week: Air Force was idle. The last time the Falcons were in action was April 8-10 for a pair of Mountain West matches and a non-conference match. The Falcons fell at Utah State, 4-3, April 8 before bouncing back to beat Idaho State, 7-0, April 9. Boise State defeated the Falcons, 5-2, April 10.
Last season vs. New Mexico: New Mexico beat Air Force, 4-3, last season in the final home match for the Falcons. New Mexico, ranked 69th nationally and fourth in the conference, defeated Air Force at the Academy Indoor Tennis Courts.
Air Force opened the four-hour match by winning the doubles point. The singles matches provided great theatre for the ruckus crowd in attendance on senior day at the Academy. Air Force took a 2-0 lead in the match, winning in straight sets at No. 4 singles, 6-4, 6-4. The Lobos got the Lobos on the board with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 3 singles and evened the match at 2-2 with a 6-4, 7-6 (3) win at No. 1 singles.
Mary Meyers battled back in a classic at No. 2 singles to put the Falcons in the lead 3-2 with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (3) victory. New Mexico tied the match at 3-3 with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6 singles to set up a winner take all match at No. 5 singles. The Lobos battled back down a break in the second set to force a tie-breaker before prevailing, 6-3, 7-6 (3), at No. 5.
20-win club: Air Force four players with 20 or more singles victories this season. Junior Chloe Forlini leads the way with a 29-10 overall singles mark. She is 17-5 in duals. Junior Joecelle Rudico is 23-15 overalll and 13-8 in duals while junior Lily Forlini is 22-18 overall and 13-11 in duals. Freshman Elizabeth Barnickel is 23-18 overall and 14-8 in duals. Barnickel is the first freshman in three seasons to top the 20-win mark.
Chloe Forlini leads the way in doubles with a 25-10 overall mark and a 12-5 dual record. Rudico has a 23-10 overall record and 11-6 dual mark. The pair has teammed up for a 23-9 record, including an 11-5 dual mark. Lily Forlini is the third Falcon to hit the 20-win mark in both singles and doubles. She has a 20-20 overall doubles record and is 9-12 in duals.
Seven in a row: Air Force enters the week with a 13-10 mark and has clinched a winning record for the seventh straight season, a first at the Division I level.
Head Coach Kim Gidley: Kim Gidley is in her 18th season as head coach of the women's tennis team at the Air Force Academy. The first civilian head coach in the 37-year history of the program, Gidley became the winningest coach in the history of the program in 2003 with her 76th victory. She recorded her 100th career victory during the 2005-06 season against South Dakota State and her 200th against Seattle University last season. She has a 243-234 career record. Gidley has led the Falcons to six straight winning seasons which is a first in the Division I era (1996).
