Women’s Tennis Beats Wolverines in Thriller, 4-3 – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/27/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
February 27, 1999
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a match that was filled with tension from the opening toss, the Ohio State Buckeyes came from behind to defeat the Michigan Wolverines, 4-3, Saturday afternoon at the Jesse Owens Recreation Center. OSUs record improves to 6-3 (1-0 Big Ten) while Michigan falls to 2-3 (1-1 Big Ten).
%^$The match came down to a climactic end at No. 5 singles, with Ohio State’s Laura Maloney (So., Barrington, Ill.) going up against Michigan’s Alison Sinclair. After winning the first set easily, 6-2, Maloney quickly found herself down 5-2 in the second. But the sophomore battled back from two breaks down to tie the score at 5-5. She then held serve to make it 6-5 and proceeded to go up 15-40 on Sinclair’s serve the next game. But UM’s No. 5 player managed to fight off both match points and win the game, forcing a tiebreaker.
%^$With both teams looking on screaming their encouragement, the two players split the first four points of the tiebreaker. That’s when Sinclair went on a run which saw her win three of the next four points to jump ahead 5-3. But Maloney dug deep and won the next two points to tie it up at 5-5, then went up 6-5 when Sinclair missed a forehand. Maloney, a transfer from Colorado State, had her third match point, but unlike the previous two, this time she would be serving. On the 6-5 point, Maloney swung a slice serve into Sinclair’s body that she mishit just wide, giving OSU the 4-3 victory.
%^$Like the singles, the doubles point came down to a climactic finish when Michigan’s Danielle Lund and Brooke Hart defeated Briana Harris (So., Bradenton, Fla.) and Kristy Dascoli (So., Bradenton, Fla.), 9-8 (9-7 in the tiebreaker). The OSU duo faced four match points before finally succumbing.
%^$Despite trailing 1-0, the Buckeyes went right to work on the 49th-ranked Wolverines. Dascoli tied things up with an easy 6-0, 6-2 victory over Brooke Hart. Michigan picked up a win at No. 4 singles to take a 2-1 lead, but OSU tied it up behind Michelle Matko (Fr., Aurora, Ill.). In the upset of the afternoon, Matko took it to Danielle Lund, 6-4, 6-2. Lund is currently ranked No. 56 in the nation in singles.
%^$With three matches still on the court and the score tied, 2-2, the action became more and more dramatic. UM picked up a tight win at No. 4 singles to take a brief 3-2 lead, which meant the Buckeyes had to win the two remaining matches to pick up a victory over their archrivals. At No. 6, Claudia Castro (Fr., Onalaska, Wis.) did her part in dispatching Michigan’s Maya Canfield, 6-2, 6-3. That set the stage for Maloney’s heroics.
%^$The win for Ohio State breaks a streak of 11 consecutive losses to Michigan. It marks the Buckeyes’ first win over the Wolverines since they beat them in the Big Ten Tournament in the 1988-89 season. OSU hadn’t beaten UM in the regular season since the 1986-87 season.
%^$The Buckeyes will not have much time to celebrate this victory, as they play the Michigan State Spartans tomorrow morning. The action starts at 10 a.m. at the Jesse Owens West Recreation Center.
%^$
%^$Match Score%^$Michigan 3%^$Ohio State 4%^$%^$Individual Scores%^$
%^$Doubles%^$No. 1 – No. 32 Brooke Hart/Danielle Lund, Michigan def. No. 12 Briana Harris/Kristy Dascoli, Ohio State 9-8 (7)%^$No. 2 – Jen Boylan/Szandra Fuzesi, Michigan def. Michelle Matko/Monica Rincon, Ohio State 8-6%^$No. 3 – Laura Maloney/Claudia Castro, Ohio State def. Alison Sinclair/Jen Vaughn, Michigan 8-3
%^$Singles%^$No. 1 – Kristy Dascoli, Ohio State def. Brooke Hart, Michigan 6-0, 6-2%^$No. 2 – Michelle Matko, Ohio State def. No. 56 Danielle Lund, Michigan 6-4, 6-2%^$No. 3 – Szandra Fuzesi, Michigan def. Briana Harris, Ohio State 6-4, 7-5%^$No. 4 – Jen Boylan, Michigan def. Monica Rincon, Ohio State 6-4, 6-2%^$No. 5 – Laura Maloney, Ohio State def. Alison Sinclair, Michigan 6-2, 7-5 **%^$No. 6 – Claudia Castro, Ohio State def. Maya Canfield, Michigan 6-2, 6-3%^$%^$**: denotes clinching match
%^$Records: Michigan 2-3 (1-1 Big Ten); Ohio State 6-3 (1-0 Big Ten)
%^$Time of Match: 4:26
