Women’s Tennis Travels to Notre Dame – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/26/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 26, 2000
The Notre Dame Invitational
Most of the Buckeyes will compete in the Notre Dame Invitational, Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Notre Dame, Ind. Kristy Dascoli, Monica Rincon and Sadhaf Pervez will not compete after playing in the National Clay Courts last week. The Notre Dame tournament will consist of five singles and three doubles flights.
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.
Welcome to OSU
The Buckeyes have added two players to the roster for the 2000-01 season. Erica Fisk, from Pike High School in Indianapolis, reached the semifinals of the Indiana state tournament before falling in a third-set tiebreaker. She was an all-conference and all-county honoree. Lindsay Williams, from Beverly Hills, Mich., played scholastically at Birmingham Groves High School. She was a state finalist in 1999, a four-time all-state honoree and regional champion and a three-time league champion. All eight members of the Buckeyes’ squad last year return for Ohio State.
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.
Recapping the Clay Courts
Kristy Dascoli (Sr., Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Academy), Monica Rincon (Jr., Lapeer, Mich./West) and Sadhaf Pervez (So., Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) all participated in the T. Rowe Price National Intercollegiate Clay Court Championships, the opening leg of the collegiate grand slam, last week in Pikesville, Md. The doubles tandem of Dascoli and Rincon performed well, posting two three-set wins before falling in the semifinals to the eventual tournament champion from Wake Forest. Dascoli fell in the opening round of the main draw but went on to advance to the semifinals of the consolation draw. Pervez posted a win in the first round of qualifying before she was defeated in the second round, while Rincon lost in the first round of qualifying.
Close to the Top
With a career singles record of 75-36, Dascoli is in third place all-time on the career singles wins list. She needs four victories to move into second place and seven 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 69. The all-time leader in that category is Kelly Story, who went 118-60 from 1989-92.
On the Charts
Last season four Buckeyes recorded win totals that rank in the Top 10 in program history for victories in a season. Rincon set an OSU record with 30 wins, while Dascoli was right behind with 29 to tie for second all-time. Pervez’s 27 victories tied for fifth place and Michelle Matko’s (Jr., Aurora, Ill./West) 26 wins are tied for seventh.
The 20-Win Club
Over the past two seasons, the Buckeyes have had a player hit the 20-plus win mark six times. Rincon and Matko each eclipsed the mark the last two years, while Pervez and Dascoli also posted more than 20 wins last season.
Academic Standout
The Buckeyes were named an All-Academic team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for the 1999-00 school year. The squad, which had six players earn OSU Scholar-Athlete honors last season, was one of 73 Division I women’s squads to be honored for having a team grade point average of 3.20 or better. In addition to OSU, five Big Ten schools earned academic team honors: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin.
The 1999-00 Season
The Buckeyes went 18-8 overall last season, tying the program record for wins in a season. The squad went 9-1 in Big Ten play during the season to claim its first conference regular season title before finishing third in the final conference standings.
Two in a Row
Last year, 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.
Maloney Honored
Senior Laura Maloney (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) earned ITA Scholar-Athlete All-America accolades for her performance in the classroom last season. The communications major also is an Academic All-Big Ten and OSU Scholar-Athlete honoree. The criteria for the award, which was given to 113 Division I women’s tennis student-athletes, included being a junior or senior in school, earning a varsity letter and having a GPA of over 3.5.
Topping the Chart
Rincon set the all-time 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.
More Academic Honors
Ohio State Student Athlete Support Services honored 323 student-athletes, including six women’s tennis players, at the Scholar-Athlete Banquet at the end of the 1999-00 school year. Castro, Maloney, Matko and Rincon each earned the award for the second-consecutive year, while Taryn Bowen and Katherine Martin received the honor for the first time. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have a grade-point average above a 3.0 since winter quarter of their freshman year.
Player of the Year
Dascoli earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors for her outstanding play last season. She ranked second on the team with a mark of 29-11 and was a stellar 19-3 at No. 1 singles this spring. She also had a strong year in doubles, posting a mark of 24-11 overall and 20-6 in the spring. She is the only Buckeye to ever win the award.
Record Setters
Last season the Buckeyes set or tied seven program records. The squad posted 18 wins to tie the program record, while the nine match winning streak was a record. OSU went 11-0 at home, setting marks for most wins and most consecutive wins at home. In the rankings, the Buckeyes reached a program-best No. 22, while Dascoli broke her own mark with a singles ranking of No. 32. Dascoli and then- partner Briana Harris tied the record with a national ranking of No. 7.
The Big Ten Tourney
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.
