Women’s Tennis Defeats Miami (Fla.) in Opening Round of NCAA Championship – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 13, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 26 Ohio State women’s tennis team posted a 5-3 win over the Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes in the first round of the NCAA Championship, Saturday in Athens, Ga. The Buckeyes advance to the second round of the tournament for the first time in program history, as the squad moved its record to 18-7 overall. The 18 victories tie the program record for most wins in a season. The Hurricanes season ended with a mark of 12-12.
“I’m just proud our team could handle the heat and also a good team at that,” Ohio State head coach Chuck Merzbacher said about the win over Miami. “We beat a good team that we lost to last year at their place on spring break. It was good to get them on a neutral site.”
The Buckeyes won four of six singles matches to go into doubles play with a 4-2 lead. Kristy Dascoli (Jr., Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Academy), Michelle Matko (So., Aurora, Ill./Aurora West) and Claudia Castro (So., Dublin, Ohio/) each posted two-set wins, while Sadhaf Pervez (Fr., Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) won in three sets to give Ohio State its final singles win. Monica Rincon (So., Lapeer, Mich./Lapeer West) suffered a tough loss, falling 7-6, 7-6 to Meredith Laughlin at No. 2 singles.
Dascoli and Rincon recorded a win at No. 1 doubles over the Hurricanes’ Marcy Hora and Katie Bogolomova to clinch the Buckeyes’ win. Miami won at the No. 2 spot over Pervez and Laura Maloney (Jr., Barrington, Ill.), while the No. 3 doubles match was halted after Ohio State recorded its fifth point.
“Ohio State is solid, one through six,” Miami head coach Paige Yarshuk said. “They fought consistently and that was the deciding factor. We played well at times, but they held a level we couldn’t match.”
The Buckeyes will face Georgia in the second round tomorrow at noon in Athens, Ga. The No. 2-ranked Lady Bulldogs posted a 5-0 win over Furman in the opening round to advance. The winner of tomorrow’s match will advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Championships, held May 18-21 at Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif.
2000 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship First Round No. 26 Ohio State 5, No. 35 Miami (Fla.) 3 May 13, 2000, Athens, Ga. Singles No. 1 Kristy Dascoli, OSU def. Alanna Broderick, UM 6-3, 6-0 No. 2 Meredith Laughlin, UM def. Monica Rincon, OSU 7-6, 7-6 No. 3 Michelle Matko, OSU def. Marcy Hora, UM 6-1, 7-6 No. 4 Sadhaf Pervez, OSU def. Katie Bogomolova, UM 7-6, 1-6, 6-4 No. 5 Eva Jimenez, UM def. Laura Maloney, OSU 6-2, 6-3 No. 6 Claudia Castro, OSU def. Igne de Villiers, UM 6-2, 6-2
Doubles No. 1 Dascoli/Rincon, OSU, def. Hora/Bogomolova, UM 8-2 No. 2 Broderick/Jimenez, UM def. Pervez/Maloney, OSU 8-2 No. 3 Castro/Matko, OSU vs. de Veilliers/Loughlin, UM DNF
–GO BUCKS!–
