No. 21 Women’s Tennis Takes on No. 14 Tennessee – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 6, 2001
%^$COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 21 women’s tennis team enjoyed a successful homestand going 4-1 and earned two key Big Ten victories over Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes leave the friendly confines of Columbus for their next match as they head to Knoxville to battle No. 14 Tennessee Saturday at 1 p.m.%^$
%^$The Series
%^$Ohio State and Tennessee have met seven times on the court with the Lady Vols winning five times. Last season the two teams squared off in Knoxville and the Lady Vols squeaked by OSU with a 6-3 victory.%^$
%^$The National Rankings
%^$The Buckeyes are ranked 21st in the most recent rankings released by the ITA (Feb. 28). 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 OSU’s all-time leader in wins. She is ranked 31st in the nation.%^$
%^$Monica Rincon (Jr. Lapeer, Mich.) also had a strong fall season. Rincon, who was named the ITA Midwest Region Player to Watch at the end of last year, went 7-3, and teamed up with Dascoli in doubles to notch an 8-4 record. She set the program record for most singles wins in a season with 30 last year. She is ranked No. 88 in the nation and is off to a hot start with a 9-2 singles dual record.%^$
%^$Scouting Tennessee
%^$The Lady Volunteers are 9-1 and have been playing some great tennis. Their only loss came to No. 3 Duke in the ITA National Team Indoors. The Lady Vols have faced more Big Ten teams than the Buckeyes have and claimed victories in all five matches. Besides Duke, Tennessee and OSU share two common opponents. Both schools defeated Wisconsin, 5-2, but the Lady Vols dropped Oklahoma State, whereas OSU did not.%^$
%^$The Lady Vols have experienced talent across the board, but surprisingly UT also does not have any singles players ranked by the ITA. UT relies on the whole team to win matches. The do not have any superstars playing singles, but doubles is a different story. The tandem of Vilmarie Castellvi and Alison Ojeda are No. 16 in the nation even though they do not always play together.%^$
%^$Recapping Last Week
%^$Last weekend was a busy one for the women’s tennis team. OSU hosted three nationally ranked teams and Big Ten play. OSU picked up its first Big Ten win of the year, in a match that took nearly five and a half hours, when it blanked Minnesota, 7-0, on March 2. No. 5 Notre Dame then visited Columbus and defeated the Buckeyes, 6-1, March 3. The loss was OSU’s first Saturday loss. It also snapped a 14-match home win streak and a 4-match overall win streak. March 5, OSU played its second Big Ten match of the year versus Wisconsin. The Buckeyes improved to 2-0 in league play by beating the Badgers, 5-2. After the weekend the Buckeyes stand at 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten.%^$
%^$At the Helm
%^$Coach Chuck Merzbacher (Minnesota, ’87), in his fifth season, has enjoyed much success since becoming the head man at OSU. He has compiled a 62-49 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.%^$
%^$What a Recruiter
%^$A players success is measured by how many tallies there are in the win column and ever since Merzbacher was hired five years ago the wins have been piling up. Four of the Top Ten season singles winners are on the squad this year and all of them were recruited by Merzbacher. The players, their records and years are as follows.%^$
1. Monica Rincon 30-11 2000%^$2. Kristy Dascoli 29-11 2000%^$5. Sadhaf Pervez 27-14 2000%^$7. Michelle Matko 26-11 2000%^$10. Kristy Dascoli 25-10 1998%^$
%^$Nine in a Row
%^$With victories over Wisconsin and Minnesota last week the Buckeyes have not lost a Big Ten regular season match in their last nine outings. OSU’s last loss in conference play was to Iowa last year.%^$
%^$Off to a Fast Start
%^$Erica Fisk (Fr. Indianapolis, Ind.) is off to a great start at OSU. She has compiled an 18-9 record. In the fall she was 9-5 in tournament play and is 9-4 in spring dual action. Her 18 wins lead the team.%^$
%^$All in a Weeks Work
%^$Saturday is the best day of the week for the Buckeyes. A daily record breakdown follows.%^$
Sunday 2-0%^$Monday 0-0%^$Tuesday 0-0%^$Wednesday 0-0%^$Thursday 0-1%^$Friday 2-2%^$Saturday 5-1%^$
%^$Holding Serve
%^$OSU is almost unstoppable at home. Saturday’s loss was the Buckeyes’ first home loss since the 1998-1999 season when OSU dropped a 4-3 decision to Minnesota. Previously the Buckeyes had won 14-straight in Columbus.%^$
%^$OSU’s All-Time Leader
%^$Kristy 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 90-44, broke the old OSU mark of 81 wins, held by Maria Olazagatsti (1977-79).%^$
%^$In the Win Column
%^$In 13 matches, OSU has squared off against nine teams ranked nationally. The Buckeyes hold a 5-4 record against ranked teams. They defeated No. 8 UCLA (5-2), No. 43 Minnesota, (7-0) No. 62 Maryland (7-0), No. 64 Marquette (6-1) and No. 75 Wisconsin (5-2). OSU’s losses came to perennial powers No. 3 Duke, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 7 Pepperdine. The Buckeyes also lost to No. 40 Oklahoma State.%^$
%^$Among the Nation’s Best
%^$Two Buckeyes are ranked nationally in singles in the ITA rankings. Kristy Dascoli is ranked No. 31 and Monica Rincon is No. 88.%^$
%^$In doubles, Dascoli and Rincon are No. 32.%^$
%^$The Best in the Region
%^$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 recorded wins over ranked teams in its last three outings. When they played together in the fall the duo 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 10 conference teams, including No. 21 Ohio State, are ranked by the ITA. Other teams ranked in the ITA are: Northwestern (11), Illinois (25), Iowa (42), Minnesota (43), Indiana (44), Michigan (58), Penn State (71), Wisconsin (T75) and Purdue (T75).%^$
%^$The Spring Schedule
%^$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 has faced Duke (3), Maryland (62) and Marquette (64). The Buckeyes will face No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 34 Kentucky and No. 69 UNLV.%^$
%^$Highlights of 1999-2000
%^$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 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.
