Women’s Tennis Earns NCAA Championship Bid – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/4/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 4, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – %^$The Ohio State women’s tennis team, under fourth-year head coach Chuck Merzbacher, earned its second-consecutive bid to the NCAA Tennis Championship, the NCAA announced today. Kristy Dascoli (Jr., Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Academy) qualified for the NCAA singles tournament, while Dascoli and doubles partner Monica Rincon (So., Lapeer, Mich./Lapeer West) were selected to participate in the doubles championship.%^$
%^$The No. 26 Buckeyes (17-7), who won the first Big Ten regular-season title in program history, will face Miami (Fla.) in the opening round of the tournament May 13 in Athens, Ga. The winner of that match will face the Georgia/Furman winner May 14 to determine who advances to the NCAA Team Championship. Times for the matches have not yet been determined.%^$
%^$ In addition to the Buckeyes, five other Big Ten teams were selected – Northwestern, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa and Illinois. Overall, Ohio State faced 10 tournament-bound teams during the regular season, going 4-7 against those schools (San Diego State, Tennessee, Kentucky, Duke and Notre Dame).%^$
%^$ Dascoli, the Big Ten Player of the Year, was selected to participate in the NCAA Singles Championship for the third-consecutive season. She is the only Buckeye to ever qualify for the 64-player singles tournament. She has compiled a mark of 30-9 overall and was a perfect 9-0 in Big Ten regular-season play. Dascoli, who is on a 13-match winning streak, ranks third all-time in career singles wins at OSU (72-32).%^$
%^$Dascoli and Rincon were selected to participate in the 32-team doubles competition. They are only the third doubles team in OSU history to qualify for the doubles tournament. The tandem is ranked No. 23 by the ITA and is 18-5 on the season. Dascoli and Rincon have won their last 10 matches at the No. 1 doubles spot.%^$
%^$”What’s really exciting is that we were able to pull off the ‘triple-crown’ and advance the team, singles player and doubles team to the NCAA Championships,” Merzbacher said. “We also were able to pull off that feat last year. That really says a lot about the direction of the program and where we’re heading.”%^$
%^$One team from each of the 16 regional sites will advance to the NCAA Team Championship, May 18-21 at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.%^$
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–GO BUCKS!–
