Women’s Tennis NCAA Individual Competitions – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 17, 2000
%^$COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 26 Buckeyes (18-8) ended the 2000 season with a second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Team Championship and will now be represented in both the singles and doubles tournaments, held May 22-26 on the Pepperdine campus in Malibu, Calif. Kristy Dascoli qualified for her third-consecutive singles tournament, while Dascoli will team with Monica Rincon in the doubles championship.%^$
%^$The Buckeyes at the NCAAs
%^$The Buckeyes advanced to the NCAA Team Championship for the second-consecutive, and third overall, time this season. The squad posted the first NCAA win in program history with a first-round victory over No. 35 Miami (Fla.), 5-2, before falling to No. 2 Georgia in the second round, 5-0.%^$
%^$The Singles Championship
%^$Kristy Dascoli, the only Buckeye to ever qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship, extended her streak of appearances to three this season. As a freshman she posted a first-round win over Harvard’s Ivy Wang before falling in the second round to Stanford’s Julie Scott. Last season she was eliminated by Aarthi Venkatesan of Georgia in the first round.%^$
%^$The Doubles Championship
%^$The doubles tandem of Dascoli and Rincon is the third team in program history to qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship. In 1992, Kelly Story and Abigail Villena fell in the first round of the tournament to Lane and Piorkowski of Boston College. Last season Dascoli and then-partner Briana Harris qualified for the championship, but fell in a close first-round match to No. 3 Webb and Goldstein of Duke in three sets.%^$
%^$The Triple Crown
%^$For the second-consecutive season, and the second time in program history, the Buckeyes had a team, singles player and doubles team advance to the NCAA Championships.%^$
%^$The Player of the Year
%^$Dascoli earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors after her outstanding play so far this season. She ranks second on the team with a mark of 29-10 and was a stellar 19-3 at No. 1 singles this year. She also had a strong year in doubles, posting a mark of 23-10 overall and 19-5 in the spring.%^$
%^$All-Big Ten Honorees
%^$Dascoli and Rincon were both named to the all-Big Ten team after their impressive seasons. Rincon set a program record with 30 wins this season, while Dascoli moved into third place on the all-time career wins list (73-33).%^$
%^$A Formidable Duo
%^$The Buckeyes’ No. 1 doubles tandem of Dascoli and Rincon, which is on an 11-match winning streak, moved to No. 23 in the most recent rankings by the ITA. The duo had reached a high of No. 20 after entering the polls at No. 43. Dascoli and Rincon are 19-5 this season. The tandem defeated five of six ranked teams it faced and was 3-2 against tournament-bound doubles teams during the regular season.%^$
%^$The Buckeye Coach
%^$Chuck Merzbacher, the 1999 Big Ten Coach of the Year, is in his fourth year at the helm for the Buckeyes. He recorded his 50th victory at Ohio State earlier this spring. His record at OSU now stands at 54-46, while he holds a mark of 187-109 in his career. In his four seasons with the squad, the team has moved up quickly in the Big Ten, from ninth-place finishes in his first two seasons to this year’s regular-season title.%^$
%^$In the Rankings
%^$The Buckeyes, currently ranked No. 26 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, reached a program-high mark of No. 22 earlier this season.%^$
%^$The Big Ten Champions
%^$The Buckeyes, 18-8 overall, posted a stellar mark of 9-1 in the Big Ten during the regular season to claim the first Big Ten Title in program history. The Buckeyes’ previous high was a sixth-place finish, which the squad recorded last season. The nine conference victories were the most-ever in program history, breaking the mark of six set most recently in 1999. Eight of the nine Big Ten squads the Buckeyes defeated were ranked in the Top 75 at the time of the match. The team’s only conference loss was a 5-2 loss at Iowa at the end of OSU’s seven-match road swing.%^$
%^$Player of the Month
%^$Dascoli was named the Big Ten co-Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Month for April. (She shared the honor with Minnesota’s Kim Simonsen.) Dascoli was honored for putting together a then-12-match winning streak, including a perfect 7-0 mark in April. She was also undefeated in doubles during April, teaming up with Rincon to post a mark of 8-0 at No. 1.%^$
%^$Topping the Chart
%^$Rincon set the all-time single-season singles victory record after winning in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament against Michigan. Her 30 wins broke the previous record held by Maria Olazagatsti, who posted 29 victories in 1977.%^$
%^$Beating the Big Ten
%^$Dascoli has compiled a career mark of 27-3 against conference opponents since her freshman year. This season she was a perfect 9-0 against Big Ten foes, while last year she was a stellar 10-1. She led conference No. 1 singles players in Big Ten wins during the regular season.%^$
%^$Leading the Way in Doubles
%^$Overall, Rincon has also compiled the most doubles wins for the squad, with a record of 27-9 this year. Dascoli ranks second with a mark of 23-10.%^$
%^$Moving Up in the Record Book
%^$With a career singles record of 73-33, Dascoli is in third place all-time on the career singles wins list. She needs six victories to move into second place and eight singles wins to become the program’s all-time leader. 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 65. The all-time leader in that category is Kelly Story, who went 118-60 from 1989-92.%^$
%^$In the Polls
%^$After earning the highest ranking in program history earlier this season, Dascoli broke her own mark in the singles rankings released by the ITA March 29. In that poll Dascoli was ranked No. 32 in the nation, topping her previous high of No. 36 (tied) set earlier this season. Dascoli is currently ranked No. 40 in the nation.%^$
%^$Tough at Two
%^$Rincon led the Buckeyes in wins all spring. She ranks first on the team with an overall mark of 30-11 and was 8-2 against Big Ten opponents. She received her first national ranking earlier this season, reaching a high of No. 77, and is currently ranked No. 101 (tied).%^$
%^$Tying the Record
%^$The Buckeyes’ 18 wins this season tied the program record for most wins in a season.The team tied the mark set in 1983, when that squad went 18-17 overall.
%^$Winning Streaks
%^$The Buckeyes set a new program record with their nine-match winning streak. The team broke the old mark of six, set in 1987. This season’s streak was broken in the Buckeyes’ loss to Minnesota in the semifinals of the conference tournament.%^$
%^$The Big Ten Tournament
%^$After receiving a first-round bye, the Buckeyes won their quarterfinal match in the Big Ten Tournament against Michigan, 4-1. The squad was then eliminated in the semifinals by Minnesota, 4-2. Minnesota went on to face Northwestern in the final match, which the Wildcats won to claim the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.%^$
%^$OSU vs. The Tourney Teams
%^$Ohio State faced 10 tournament-bound teams during the regular season, posting a mark of 4-7 in those matches. The Buckeyes recorded wins over Minnesota, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana, while they were defeated by Duke, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Tennessee, San Diego State, Iowa and Minnesota.%^$
%^$The 20-Win Club
%^$Four Buckeyes reached the 20-win mark so far this season, while one has even reached the 30-win plateau. Rincon leads the squad with an overall record of 30-11, while Dascoli is right behind with a mark of 29-10. Pervez was 27-14 this season, while Matko was 26-11.%^$
%^$The National Team Rankings
%^$The Buckeyes received the highest ranking of the season, and in program history, in the April 26 rankings by the ITA.
%^$
The Buckeyes’ rankings are as follows:%^$Fall 38%^$Feb. 2 35%^$Feb. 9 36%^$Feb. 16 33%^$Feb. 23 34%^$March 1 33%^$March 8 31%^$March 15 T34%^$March 22 31%^$March 29 45%^$April 5 40%^$April 12 25%^$April 19 27%^$April 26 22%^$May 1 26%^$May 10 26%^$%^$The Rankings in the Big Ten
%^$Including Ohio State, eight of the Big Ten teams are ranked in the Top 75: Northwestern, 16th, Ohio State, 26th, Minnesota, 29th, Illinois, 35th, Iowa, 42nd, Indiana, 45th, Purdue, 57th and Michigan, 59th. Only Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin are not ranked.%^$
%^$Last Year’s Leaders
%^$Rincon and Matko, the only Buckeyes to reach 20 wins last season, are each having strong seasons once again. Rincon leads the team with an overall mark of 30-9, while Matko is 26-11. Rincon has exceeded her win total from last season by seven, while Matko recorded 21 victories as a freshman. Each player has been ranked by the ITA at some point this season.%^$
%^$The Big Ten is Tough
%^$In addition to the Buckeyes, six Big Ten teams were selected to participate in the NCAA team championships. Northwestern, who earned the Big Ten’s automatic bid, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa and Illinois also competed in the first round of the tourney.%^$
%^$Home Sweet Home
%^$The Buckeyes ended their home season a perfect 11-0 this season. With 11-consecutive home victories, the Buckeyes set program records for most home wins in a season and most consecutive home wins. The old mark of eight home wins was set in 1990 and tied in 1999, while the consecutive-wins at home record of six was also set in 1990 and tied in 1999.%^$
%^$OSU vs. the Ranked
%^$The Buckeyes were 12-8 against ranked opponents this season. The squad recorded wins over two Top 25 teams – No. 15 Northwestern and No. 25 Marquette – as well as compiled eight other wins against teams in the national Top 75 (No. 28 Illinois, No. 35 Miami (Fla.), No. 41 Kansas, No. 47 Indiana, No. 56 Purdue, No. 57 Michigan (two times), No. 60 Minnesota, No. 61 Penn State and No. 66 Wisconsin. Rankings listed are from when the match was played.) The squad’s losses to ranked opponents were against five Top 25 teams and three Top 75 squads. Last year, the team was 3-9 over ranked opponents, including a mark of 1-6 against teams in the national Top 25.%^$
%^$Ending Strong
%^$The Buckeyes finished their regular season on a positive note, as the team won its last eight matches, including defeating six ranked teams.%^$
%^$The Team Records
%^$As a team, the Buckeyes have recorded an overall singles mark of 158-112 this season for a winning percentage of 59 percent. The squad has gone 61-45 in doubles this year for a winning percentage of 58 percent. The squad was strong in conference singles, as it won 67 percent of its matches, going 40-20 this spring.%^$
%^$It’s Been a Long While
%^$The Buckeyes’ shutout against Georgia marked the first blanking the squad has suffered since a 9-0 loss to Duke, Feb. 13, 1999. Since Merzbacher took over the program, the squad has only failed to win at least one match just four times. Ohio State was not shutout in any matches in 1998 and only suffered two blankings in 1997, Merzbacher’s first season with the team.%^$
%^$Strong at the Top
%^$The Buckeyes recorded a mark of 42-9 at the top two singles spots so far this season. Dascoli, Matko and Rincon each tallied wins at No. 1, while Rincon, Matko and Pervez all chipped in wins at No. 2.%^$
%^$A Tough Road
%^$During the season, the Buckeyes had a stretch of seven-consecutive road matches in which each opponent was ranked in the Top 75 by the ITA, including three Top 25 squads. Ohio State went 2-5 on that road swing.%^$
%^$Keep Up with the Bucks
%^$Information on the Buckeyes’ women’s tennis team is available on-line at ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Releases as well as statistics and match recaps are available. Information is also available on Ohio State’s 34 other varsity teams.%^$
