Undefeated Women’s Tennis Buckeyes Hit the Road – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 9, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The undefeated Buckeyes (4-0) return to dual match action, traveling to Durham, N.C. to face Kansas and Duke, Friday (noon) and Saturday (4 p.m.), respectively.
Scouting Duke
Duke is currently ranked fifth in the country. The Blue Devils are led by No. 1 singles player Megan Miller, who is ranked 17th (tied) in the nation. No. 31 Kathy Sell has played at No. 2 and No. 3 this year, going undefeated at 3-0. The junior currently has a career mark of 94-20. The squad was 27-4 last season, including a perfect 8-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Duke will play at No. 15 William & Mary on Wednesday, looking to improve their current spring season record of 3-0.
Scouting Kansas
The Jayhawks, ranked No. 41 (tied), are currently 3-0 after posting shutout wins over Creighton (9-0) and Wichita State on Sunday. The squad is led by senior Brook Chiller, who plays at No. 1 and is 8-6 on the year. Tiffany Chang, KU’s No. 3, has the most wins for the squad with a mark of 12-5. Chiller and Julia Sidorova pace the Jayhawks with a 5-3 record at No.1 doubles.
The Opposing Coaches
Jamie Ashworth is in his fourth season at the helm for Duke. In his first full year as a head coach in 1997-98, he led Duke to a school record 27 wins, its 11th-consecutive ACC regular season and tournament titles, the school’s best final national ranking at No. 2, its third-straight Final Four and the program’s first appearance in the NCAA title match. Ashworth owns a career head coaching record of 72-9. He was a four-year letterwinner for the Maryland Terrapins.
Jenny Garrity is in her second year as the head coach at Kansas after being named a 1999 Big 12 Tri-Coach of the Year during her inaugural season. Last season she coached the Jayhawks to a 13-13 overall record, including an 8-3 conference record for a third place conference finish and a NCAA regional finals finish. Prior to coming to KU, Garrity served as an assistant coach for two years and as the head coach three years at her alma mater, North Carolina State. She is the sister of Kathy Sell, who plays for Duke. The Series
Duke leads the series against the Buckeyes, 3-0. Last season the Blue Devils shut out the Buckeyes, 9-0, in South Bend, Ind. The Buckeyes and the Jayhawks have met only once, with Ohio State winning that contest.
Duke Dominates the Tough ACC
Seven of the eight schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference are ranked in the national Top 75, including four squads in the top 20. Florida ranks No. 2, followed by Duke, No. 5, Wake Forest, No. 11, Florida State, No. 19, North Carolina, No. 28, Maryland, No. 39, Georgia Tech, No. 48, Virginia, No. 53 and Clemson No. 62. Duke has claimed 11-consecutive ACC tournament and regular season championships. The Blue Devils are undefeated in ACC play over the last three years.
Dascoli at the National Indoors
Kristy Dascoli fell in the first round of the 2000 Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at Brookhaven Country Club Thursday (Feb. 3). Dascoli, ranked No. 39, was defeated by No. 20 Bruna Colosio of Louisiana State, 6-3, 7-5. The match was in the opening round of the National Indoors, the third leg of the ITA Grand Slam. Dascoli had earned a spot in the field after reaching the final at the ITA Midwest Regional in November. In the first round of the singles consolation, Dascoli fell to San Diego’s Zuzana Lesenarova, the top seed of the tournament who was upset in the first round. Lesenarova had won the opening two legs of the ITA Collegiate Grand Slam.
The Coach
Chuck Merzbacher is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Buckeyes. He earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors after leading the squad to a 14-11 record last season. His overall career record is 173-101, while his mark at OSU is 40-38 after the Buckeyes opened the season with four straight wins.
High School Reunion
Ohio State’s No. 1 singles player Kristy Dascoli and Megan Miller, Duke’s No. 1, are both alumnae of Bradenton Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The collegiate juniors were both members of the Florida state high school championship team their senior season.
Still Unbeaten
Four Buckeyes remain unbeaten in singles through four dual matches this spring. Claudia Castro and Laura Maloney lead the way with 4-0 marks, while Monica Rincon stands at 3-0 and Katherine Martin is 1-0.
On the Road
After the Buckeyes travel to Durham, N.C. this weekend, they return to Columbus to face Cincinnati (Feb. 16) and then go back on the road for the rest of February and all of March. The Buckeyes’ next home match (after UC) will be April 1 against Penn State and will be held outdoors at the Stickney Tennis Center.
Against the Ranked
The Buckeyes’ win over then No. 25-ranked Marquette (Jan. 30) was the squad’s first win over a ranked opponent this season. Last year the team was 3-9 over ranked opponents, including a mark of 1-6 against teams in the national Top 25.
Better Than Last Year
The Buckeyes began the season 4-0 in dual matches, a winning streak one match longer than last season’s (3-0) start. The squad ended last season with a 14-11 overall record.
Perfect Doubles Team
The doubles team of Sadhaf Pervez and Laura Maloney remains undefeated in the spring season after coming back to win against Marquette. The duo, who was 3-4 in the fall tournament season, is now 7-4 overall this year.
The National Team Rankings
After being idle for a week, the Buckeyes dropped from No. 35 to No. 36 in the most recent rankings released by the ITA (Feb. 7). The squad is rated No. 3 (tied) in the Midwest Region by the ITA, the highest-ever such ranking in program history.
Buckeyes Nationally Ranked
After reaching the final at the ITA Midwest Regional, Kristy Dascoli moved up in the national rankings from No. 50 to No. 39, the highest singles ranking in program history. Sophomore Michelle Matko received her first national ranking, No. 101 (tied), after going 8-3 in the fall.
The Big Ten is Tough
Including Ohio State, nine of the Big Ten teams are ranked in the Top 75: Northwestern, 18th, Iowa, 33rd (tied), Illinois, 47th, Wisconsin, 49th, Indiana, 55th, Minnesota, 56th, Purdue, 64th, and Michigan, 69th.
Regionally Ranked Buckeyes
In addition to her national ranking, Dascoli is ranked No. 2 in the Midwest Region in singles. The doubles duo of Monica Rincon and Claudia Castro is ranked No. 15, while Rincon is rated No. 17 in singles. Matko and Sadhaf Pervez are also rated in the Top 30 in the region, with rankings of No. 19 and No. 26, respectively.
Going the Distance
Both of Pervez’s matches have gone to three sets in the last two competitions. She defeated Anna Maria Underwood of West Virginia (4-6, 6-3, 6-2), before losing a close match to Marquette’s Julia Sapozhnikova in the tie break, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5).
Playing the Best
In addition to the ranked Big Ten teams, the No. 35 Buckeyes still have six non-conference teams ranked in the national Top 75 remaining on their schedule: No. 5 Duke, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 17 Notre Dame, No. 22 Kentucky, No. 41 (tied) Kansas and No. 54 San Diego State. The Buckeyes already defeated then-No. 25 ranked Marquette, 5-4, earlier this season.
Keep Up with the Buckeyes
Information on the Buckeyes’ women’s tennis team is available on-line at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
