#55 Women’s Tennis Opens MW Play With Win Over Boise State

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - The 55th ranked Air Force women's tennis team opened Mountain West play with a 5-2 dual win over Boise State Sunday at the Cadet Gym indoor tennis courts. The Falcons earned its first-ever win over the Broncos and improved to 18-1 on the season.

The Falcons opened in doubles by rallying to take the point. After TJ Fumagalli and Kristin Kerrigan lost at No. 1 singles, the 2 and 3 groups of Ashleigh Harvey/Meredith Jones and Nadeen Leiberman/Elizabeth Barnickel earned wins for the Falcons.

Boise State tied the match after Barnickel fell at No. 2 singles to Lilian Poling in three sets, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The Falcons then took control of the match with wins at No. 3 and No. 1 singles. Jones won at No. 3 over Vanessa Trimm 6-2, 6-7, 6-1. Fumagalli avenged her doubles loss with a No. 1 win over Wilhemina Palmer in two sets, 7-6, 7-5.

Boise State made it 3-2 with a win at No. 4 singles as Kerrigan fell to Wiktoria Nosek 5-7, 6-4, 7-6.

The Falcons took the match when Lieberman won at No. 6 over Frankie Trella 6-3, 6-2. Air Force added a win at No. 5 when Ashleigh Harvey defeated Emily Strande 7-5, 6-2.

"This was the first time in program history that our team has defeated Boise State," head coach Kim Gidley said. "They are always well coached and fight. We have been close through the years, so this is bittersweet after 20 years. In both the doubles and the singles, Boise gave us all we could handle. The doubles point came down to the wire. The no. 3 doubles team of Lieberman/Barnickel were down 6-5 and came back to win in the tie-breaker for the lone doubles point. This certainly gave us some energy going into the singles. However, Boise State did not back down. We won the first set in all four of the singles matches, but Boise kept battling back, winning two of the matches in three sets. Going into our no. 5 & 6 singles, and still needing to win the match, both Harvey and Lieberman stepped up their games and dominated their opponents. Nadeen Lieberman clinched the match against Nebraska earlier this year for our first ever win over Nebraska, so it was fitting again today, that she would clinch for our first ever win over Boise State."

Air Force's dual against South Dakota, which was scheduled for Sunday evening, was canceled due to South Dakota unable to travel to Colorado due to the recent blizzard.

The Falcons return to action March 29 at Colorado State.

#55 AIR FORCE vs. BOISE STATE, March 17 - Air Force 5-2
Doubles
Lilian Poling/Wilhemina Palmer (BSU) def. TJ Fumagalli/Kristin Kerrigan (AF) 6-2
Ashleigh Harvey/Meredith Jones (AF) vs. Vanessa Timm/Frankie Trella (BSU) 6-4
Nadeen Lieberman/Elizabeth Barnickel (AF) def. Wiktoria Nosek/Emily Strande (BSU) 7-6

Singles
TJ Fumagalli (AF) def. Wilhemina Palmer (BSU) 7-6, 7-5
Lilian Poling (BSU) def. Elizabeth Barnickel (AF) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Meredith Jones (AF) def. Vanessa Timm (BSU) 6-2, 6-7, 6-1
Wiktoria Nosek (BSU) def. Kristin Kerrigan (AF) 5-7, 6-4, 7-6
Ashleigh Harvey (AF) def. Emily Strande (BSU) 7-5, 6-2
Nadeen Lieberman (AF) def. Frankie Trella (BSU) 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1, 4, 6, 5

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