Tournament Time for No. 19 Women’s Tennis – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/14/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 14, 2001
%^$COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 19th-ranked women’s tennis team journeys to Madison, Wis. for the ITA National Team Indoors. The event runs from Thursday through Sunday (Feb. 15-18). The Buckeyes will face some stiff competition as 14 of the Top 22 teams in the nation will be there trying to take home the hardware.%^$
%^$The Buckeyes begin play at 9 a.m. Thursday against No. 7 Pepperdine. The winner will face either No. 3 Duke or No. 14 Tennessee, Friday. Thursday’s match will be OSU’s first against Pepperdine. OSU holds an all-time record of 5-1 against schools from the West Coast Conference with the one blemish coming to Santa Clara.%^$
%^$The National Rankings%^$
The Buckeyes are ranked a program-record 19th in the most recent rankings released by the ITA (Feb. 14). As of Dec. 15, the squad is ranked No. 3 in the Midwest Region, behind only Notre Dame and Northwestern.%^$
%^$We’re All Here%^$
All eight student-athletes from last year’s NCAA-qualifying team have returned for the Buckeyes this season.%^$
%^$Leading the Buckeyes%^$
Kristy Dascoli (Sr. Bradenton, Fla.), the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, is back for her final season at first singles for the Buckeye squad. She led OSU in the fall with a 10-4 record and became She is ranked 34th in the nation and last fall became OSU’s all-time leader in wins.%^$
%^$Monica Rincon (Jr. Lapeer, Mich.) also had a strong fall season. Rincon, who was named the ITA Midwest Region Player to Watch at the end of last year, went 7-3, and teamed up with Dascoli in doubles to notch an 8-4 record. She set the program record for most singles wins in a season with 30 last year. She is ranked No. 85 in the nation and is off to a hot start with a 4-1 dual record at No. 2 singles.%^$
%^$Scouting Pepperdine%^$
No. 9 Pepperdine is 2-1, but has played a tough schedule. They opened the season by defeating UNLV and then dropped a match, 4-3, to No. 13 USC last week. The Waves bounced back besting No. 6 UCLA, 5-2, last Saturday. Pepperdine is led by senior Ipek Senoglu and junior Paola Palencia. Senoglu is 1-2 on the year at No. 1 singles with her losses coming to the No. 12 and No. 31 players in the nation. Palencia is No. 44 and has a record of 3-0 at No. 2 singles.%^$
%^$Senoglu and Palencia are both accomplished singles players, but may be more dangerous when they team up to for the Waves No. 1 doubles team. The duo is ranked No. 2 in the nation and was the No. 1 seed in the ITA National Indoors held earlier this month. They advanced to the final, but fell to Stanford’s Laura Granville and Petra Lastra.%^$
%^$The Field%^$
The ITA Natioanl Team Indoors features 14 of the Top 25 teams in the nation. Eighteen out of the Top 30 women will be participating, including the top four in the nation.%^$
%^$At the Helm%^$
Coach Chuck Merzbacher (Minnesota, ’87), in his fifth season, has enjoyed much success since becoming the head man at OSU. He has compiled a 57-46 record, and has taken the Buckeyes from pretenders to contenders on the Big Ten and national stage. In Merzbacher’s first year, 1996-97, the team finished ninth in the Big Ten, but in only his fourth season the squad earned the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and finished third.%^$
%^$Double Trouble%^$
In the first four matches OSU’s doubles teams have a combined 12-3 record, outscoring their opponents, 83-49. The tandem of Dascoli and Rincon lead the way by besting their opponents by a combined 29-12.%^$
%^$Off to a Fast Start%^$
Freshman Erica Fisk (Fr. Indianapolis, Ind.) is off to a great start at OSU. She has compiled a 13-6 record. In the fall she was 9-5 in tournament play and is 4-1 in spring dual action at No. 4 singles.%^$
%^$OSU’s All-Time Leader%^$
Dascoli became OSU’s all-time record holder for singles wins when she recorded her 82nd career victory earlier this fall. She defeated Notre Dame’s Becky Varnum in the quarterfinals of the ITA Midwest Regional Nov. 5 for the record-setting win. Dascoli, who now owns a career mark of 86-43, broke the old OSU mark of 81 wins, held by Maria Olazagatsti (1977-79).%^$
%^$In the Win Column%^$
In five matches, OSU has squared off against three teams ranked nationally. The Buckeyes hold a 2-1 record against ranked teams. They defeated No. 62 Maryland (7-0) and No. 64 Marquette (6-1). OSU’s only loss came to perennial power No. 3 Duke.%^$
%^$Among the Nation’s Best%^$
Two Buckeyes are ranked nationally in singles in the ITA rankings. Kristy Dascoli is ranked No. 34 and Monica Rincon is No. 85.%^$
%^$In doubles, Dascoli and Rincon are No. 17.%^$
%^$The Best in the Region%^$
Regionally, four Buckeyes are ranked in singles, while two doubles teams are in the Top 10 in the Midwest Region. Kristy Dascoli is ranked second. Monica Rincon follows at No. 6. Freshman Erica Fisk is rated No. 18 and sophomore Sadhaf Pervez is No. 22. In doubles, Dascoli and Rincon are ranked second. The tandem of Pervez and Lindsay Williams holds the No. 9 spot. The duo has recorded wins over ranked teams in its last three outings. In that streak, they defeated No. 30 Nasser/Cheng of Northwestern, No. 19 Embry/Taheny of Purdue and No. 32 Anderson/Blanch of Indiana.%^$
%^$The Big Ten Tourney%^$
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. The tournament champion receives the Big Ten’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.%^$
%^$The Big Ten is Tough%^$
Once again this season, the competition in the Big Ten will be tough, as nine conference teams, including Ohio State, are ranked by the ITA. OSU has the highest ranking at No. 19, followed by Northwestern (20), Illinois (27), Minnesota (42), Iowa (49), Indiana (50), Michigan (57), Purdue (71) and Penn State (72).%^$
%^$The Spring Schedule%^$
The Buckeyes face a number of strong opponents in the spring. In addition to the conference schools, the Buckeyes have seven other ranked programs, including three Top 20 teams, on their schedule. Ohio State will face No. 3 Duke, No. 11 Notre Dame and No. 14 Tennessee. Other ranked opponents include Kentucky (34), Maryland (62), Marquette (64) and UNLV (69).%^$
%^$Highlights of 1999-2000%^$
In 1999-00, the Buckeyes were 18-8 overall and 9-2 in Big Ten play. The team finished third in the Big Ten tournament after earning the No. 1 seed. The team qualified for the NCAA championships for the second-consecutive season in a row. In addition the team then earned the highest ranking in program history (No. 22), tied the school record for wins in a season (18) and went undefeated (11-0) at home. Earned first post-season NCAA win by defeating Miami (Fla.).%^$
%^$Kristy Dascoli, a two-time All-Big Ten honoree, qualified for the national tournament for the third consecutive season. She is the only player in OSU history to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Dascoli was undefeated in conference play during the regular season and was named the Big Ten Player of the Month for April. The senior complied an overall record of 29-11 and was 19-3 at No. 1 singles in the spring.%^$
%^$Monica Rincon partnered with Dascoli to qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship. The duo ended the season ranked No. 18 after an an upset win in the first round. Rincon set a program record for most wins in a season (30). She ended the season ranked No. 9 in the Midwest Region.
