Women’s Tennis Travels to ITA Midwest Regional – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Nov. 1, 2000
The Midwest Regional
The Buckeyes will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. for the ITA Midwest Regional. Qualifying in singles and doubles will be held Thursday to Friday, Nov. 2-3. The main draw begins Saturday, Nov. 4 and runs through Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Who’s Going – Singles
At least five Buckeyes will compete in singles qualifying, while three are already entered in the main draw. Claudia Castro (Jr., Dublin, Ohio/Aquinas (Wis.), Erica Fisk (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind./Pike), Laura Maloney (Sr., Barrington, Ill./Colorado State), Katherine Martin (So., Kennewick, Wash./Kennewick) and Lindsay Williams (Fr., Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Grove) are all entered in singles qualifying. Taryn Bowen (So., Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) is an alternate for qualifying.
In the main draw, Kristy Dascoli (Sr., Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Academy), Monica Rincon (Jr., Lapeer, Mich./West) and Sadhaf Pervez (So., Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) have already qualified. Dascoli is the tournament’s second seed, while Rincon is fourth.
Who’s Going – Doubles
In doubles, three teams have qualified for the main draw, while Bowen and Castro will participate in qualifying. The No. 8-ranked duo of Dascoli and Rincon is the No. 2 seed in the main draw. The tandems of Pervez and Williams and Maloney and Fisk also will participate in the main draw of the tourney.
Almost There
With a career singles record of 79-37, Dascoli is in second place all-time on the career singles wins list. She needs just two victories to tie for the program record and three to become the all-time winningest player in OSU history. The current leader is Maria Olazagatsti, who compiled a record of 81-20 from 1977-79. Dascoli is currently in ninth place all-time on the career doubles wins list with 71. The all-time leader in that category is Kelly Story, who went 118-60 from 1989-92. The Regionals Last Year
The Buckeyes had a strong showing at the ITA Midwest Regional last season, held at the Racquet Club of Columbus. Dascoli reached the singles final before falling to Northwestern’s Katherine Nasser in three sets. No. 3-seed Dascoli defeated seventh-ranked Michelle Dasso of Notre Dame, the No. 1-seed, in three sets in the semifinal round. Rincon won three matches to reach the main draw. She was the last qualifier remaining in the main draw, as she won three matches before falling to Dasso, the top seed, in the quarterfinals. Pervez, seeded eighth in qualifying, also advanced to the main draw after winning three two-set matches in the qualifying rounds. In doubles, Rincon and Castro also advanced out of qualifying to the main draw.
All-American Recap
Dascoli and Rincon both competed at the Riviera Women’s All-American Championships, the second leg of the ITA Grand Slam, in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Oct. 17-22. Dascoli won three matches in singles qualifying to reach the main draw. She posted a first-round upset over the No. 4 seed, Adria Engel of Arizona State, in three sets in the first round of the main. She was defeated in the second round by Stanford’s Keiko Tokuda. Rincon won her first-round match before falling in the second. In doubles, the tandem of Dascoli and Rincon lost in the first round of the main draw but went on to reach the consolation final.
The Fall Records
Singles Taryn Bowen 4-1 Claudia Castro 3-4 Kristy Dascoli 6-3 Erica Fisk 4-4 Laura Maloney 3-4 Katherine Martin 5-2 Michelle Matko 0-0 Sadhaf Pervez 5-4 Monica Rincon 5-2 Lindsay Williams 5-2 Doubles Dascoli/Rincon 4-3 Fisk/Pervez 2-2 Castro/Maloney 0-3 Bowen/Williams 0-4 Pervez/Williams 3-1 Castro/Rincon 2-1 Fisk/Maloney 3-1 Bowen/Martin 2-1
The Individual Rankings
In the preseason individual rankings released Sept. 11 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, Dascoli was ranked No. 33 in singles. The doubles tandem of Dascoli and Rincon was ranked No. 8 in the nation.
The Buckeye Coach
Chuck Merzbacher is in his fifth year at the helm of the Buckeyes. His record at OSU is 54-46, while his career mark is 187-109 in 11 seasons. In Merzbacher’s four seasons with the Buckeyes, the team has moved up quickly in the Big Ten, from ninth-place finishes in his first two seasons to a sixth-place finish in 1999. The team finished third overall last season and won the first Big Ten regular season championship in the history of the program.
The Championships
This season, the Buckeyes have the honor of hosting the Big Ten Tennis Championships at the Stickney Tennis Center. All 11 conference schools will compete in the tournament, scheduled for April 26-29, 2001.
Keep Up with the Bucks
Information, including final statistics and results, on the Buckeyes’ women’s tennis team is available on-line at OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Information on Ohio State’s 35 other varsity sports also is available at the site.
–GO BUCKS!–
