Falcons head to Mountain West Championships
4/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
This week: Air Force travels to the 2017 Mountain West Women's Tennis Championships at the Fertitta Tennis Complex in Las Vegas, Nev., April 27-30. The seventh-seeded Falcons take on 10th-seeded Colorado State on Thursday, April 27, at 2 p.m. PT in the opening round. If Air Force wins it will take on second-seeded Fresno State on Friday, April 28, at 2 p.m. in the quarterfinals. The semifinals are Saturday, April 29, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. followed by the championship match Sunday, April 30, at 11 a.m.
Tournament central: For more information on the tournament and to watch live, please visit http://www.themw.com/page/watch-live.
Last week: Air Force lost a five-hour thriller at home to New Mexico, 4-3. Air Force won the doubles point and No. 1 and 2 singles. The final two singles matches (No. 5-6) were each decided in three set tie-breakers.
Eight in a row: Air Force has clinched a winning record this season which is the program's eighth straight, a first at the Division I level for the program.
All-Mountain West honors: Senior Chloe Forlini, sophomore Elizabeth Barnickel and freshman TJ Fumagalli were each named all-Mountain West in 2017. Forlini and Fumagalli earned the honor for singles while Fumagalli and Barnickel earned the honor in doubles. Forlini notched a 30-12 overall doubles record this season, including an 18-8 dual record and 4-1 dual mark in conference meetings at No. 1 doubles. Fumagalli was a perfect 27-0 this spring in singles at No. 2. Fumagalli and Barnickel played No. 1 doubles and posted a 21-2 mark this spring.
Forlini sets record: Senior Chloe Forlini became the winningest player in school history this season. Forlini has 196 career combined wins to surpass the record of 170 set by Natasha Rizvi from 2011-15.
She is No. 1 in school history in career singles wins with 106. She surpassed the record 88 set by Sarah Cassman from 2007-11. Forlini has a 106-41 career singles record and a 90-45 career doubles mark. She is 30-12 overall in singles this season and is the first player in school history to post two 30-win season. She had a then-school-record 33 singles wins in 2015.
Fumagalli sets three records: Freshman TJ Fumagalli has set three program records this season. Fumagalli surpassed the program record for singles wins in a season with 38, breaking the record of 33 set by Chloe Forlini in 2015. Fumagalli has 77 combined singles and doubles wins. She is 38-3 overall in singles, including an undefeated 27-0 mark this spring in duals, becoming the first player in school history to record an undefeated regular season. Fumagalli is 39-9 overall in doubles, including a 23-3 mark this spring. She is a combined 50-3 in singles and doubles this spring.
Air Force tennis a family affair for Fumagalli siblings: Freshman TJ Fumagalli's older brother Lucas is a senior on the Air Force men's team. Lucas is the team captain and a two-time third-team CoSIDA Academic All-American. He has a 3.85 GPA in mechanical engineering.
National rankings: The doubles team of freshman TJ Fumagalli and sophomore Elizabeth Barnickel are ranked 86th nationally in this week's ITA rankings. The pair plays No. 1 doubles for the Falcons and are 21-2 overall this spring. They are the first Air Force team to ever be ranked nationally in doubles. There are 1,200 doubles teams eligible for the national rankings and being in the top 90 puts the Falcons duo in the top two percent of the country.
Head Coach Kim Gidley: Kim Gidley is in her 19th 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 in 2014-15. She has a 259-245 career record. Gidley has led the Falcons to seven straight winning seasons which is a first in the Division I era (1996).
