OSU Women’s Tennis Begins Year at T. Rowe Price National Clay Court Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/17/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 17, 1999
COLUMBUS, Ohio –
Starting a New Season
The Ohio State women’s tennis team begins the 1999-00 season by sending six players to compete at the T. Rowe Price National Intercollegiate Tennis Clay Court Championships at the Suburban Club of Baltimore County Sept. 18-26 in Pikesville, Md.
The National Clay Courts
The Buckeyes will compete at the National Clay Court Championships, the opening leg of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Collegiate Grand Slam. Kristy Dascoli and Michelle Matko will compete in qualifying for the main draw of 32 singles players. Briana Harris, Claudia Castro, Monica Rincon and Laura Maloney will compete in the prequalifying event Sept. 18 and 19th that will send eight players to the qualifying event. The 64-player qualifying event, held Sept. 21-22, will send eight singles players to the main draw. Dascoli and Harris will participate in the 16-team main draw doubles competition. Rincon and Castro will participate in qualifying for the doubles main draw.
Buckeyes Nationally Ranked
After ending last season ranked 69th (tied) in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, Kristy Dascoli has moved up to No. 50 in the ITA’s preseason rankings. Dascoli and Harris are No. 7 in the country in the preseason rankings, up from No. 20 after last season.
The Coach
Chuck Merzbacher is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Buckeyes. He earned Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading the squad to a 14-11 record last season. His overall career record is 169-101, while his mark at OSU is 36-38.
OSU to Host Midwest Regional
Ohio State has the honor of hosting the top players in the region at the ITA Midwest Regional Nov. 3-8 at The Racquet Club of Columbus. At least one player from each team in the region has the opportunity to compete in the tournament, which begins Nov. 3 with qualifying. The singles main draw will not be smaller than 32 players and the doubles main draw will consist of 16 or more teams. Buckeye Newcomers
Merzbacher has added three freshmen to the roster for this season. Sadhaf Pervez, of Warren, N.J., was a two-time county champion and has been ranked as high as seventh in the nation in doubles. Taryn Bowen and Katherine Martin will be looked at to add depth to the squad. Bowen, from Columbus, was the No. 1 singles player on Upper Arlington High School’s No. 11-ranked varsity squad. Martin was the Big-9 Conference Player of the Year as a senior.
Academic Stand-outs
The Buckeyes were one of 43 Division I women’s squads honored by the ITA for compiling a team cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or above (on a 4.00 scale) last season.
A Record-Setting Year
Last season was the first year an Ohio State team, singles player and doubles team all qualified for the NCAA tournament. The squad finished the year with a 14-11 overall record, going 6-4 in the Big Ten.
Moving Up in the Big Ten
The Buckeyes have finished higher in the Big Ten each year under Merzbacher. The squad was 6-4 last season, placing six in the conference, the highest ever for an OSU squad.
New Assistant
Dr. David Andrews has joined the OSU staff as a volunteer assistant coach. He is an active member and regular speaker at regional and national conventions of the United States Professional Tennis Association and the United States Tennis Association. Andrews has worked with high school and college players, parents and coaches for the past 10 years, focusing on creating healthy and productive environments for competition. He is the Dean of the College of Human Ecology and Professor of Human Development at OSU.
The Team That Sticks Together
Although the Buckeyes have no seniors on the squad this season, head coach Chuck Merzbacher sees the lack of senior leadership as an advantage for his team. For the next two seasons, the same players should fill out the roster. He knows the talent he has on his squad should carry the team to success over the next two years.
A Season of Firsts: 1998-99
The Buckeyes had many program firsts last season, including:
– Had for the first time Kristy Dascoli and Briana Harris both qualify for the National Clay Courts and the All-American Championship.
– Garnered the highest ranking in school history when the squad peaked at No. 26.
– Defeated Michigan, 4-3, which was a first since 1989 and also captured a win over Indiana, 4-3, a first since 1978 in the dual season.
– Recorded the second-highest wins in school history with a 14-11 overall mark.
– Tied the most wins ever in the Big Ten for an OSU squad with six.
– Had Kristy Dascoli become the first women’s tennis player to received all-Big Ten honors back-to-back.
– Had Chuck Merzbacher named as the Big Ten Coach of the Year, a first ever by a women’s tennis coach.
– For the first time ever, an Ohio State women’s tennis team, singles player and doubles team all qualified for the NCAA tournament in the same year.
–OSU–
