Women’s Tennis Hits The Road For Road Matches – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/1/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 1, 2001
%^$
%^$COLUMBUS, Ohio – The women’s tennis team, 11-5 on the year, are riding a respectable two-match win streak in which the upset league foe Iowa. The Buckeyes look to continue their winning ways Sunday at 11 a.m. when they travel to Penn State. Wednesday, OSU squares off againt in-state rival Miami in Oxford at 2:30 p.m.%^$
%^$The Series
%^$OSU and PSU have met 28 times with each team winning 14. The Buckeyes won the meeting last year 4-3 in Columbus. in the history of the program OSU’s most common opponent is Miami. The two schools have met 38 times. OSU leads the series 25-13.%^$
%^$The National Rankings
%^$The Buckeyes are ranked 27th in the most recent rankings released by the ITA (March 28). The squad is ranked No. 3 in the 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 32nd in the nation.%^$
%^$Monica Rincon (Jr. Lapeer, Mich.) also had a strong fall season. Rincon, who was named the ITA Midwest Region Player to Watch at the end of last year, went 7-3, and teamed up with Dascoli in doubles to notch an 8-4 record. She set the program record for most singles wins in a season with 30 last year. She is ranked No. 97 in the nation and is off to a hot start with an 13-2 singles dual record.%^$
%^$Scouting Penn State
%^$PSU (10-4, 2-1) is one of the more dangerous teams in the Big Ten. They have posted some impressive victories on highly regarded teams nad have dropped Minnesota and Wisconsin in conference play. In their last time out PSU fell just short of upsetting No. 36 Iowa as the Hawkeyes escaped with a 4-3 win.%^$
%^$Scouting Miami
%^$The RedHawks (10-4, 2-1 MAC), who traveled to Akron Saturaday, enter Wednesday’s match with some momentum after drubbing of Buffalo, 7-0, March 30.%^$
%^$Recapping Last Time Out
%^$The Ohio State women’s tennis team garnered its 10th win of the season March 22 in Las Vegas when the team defeated UNLV 4-3. The Ohio State women’s tennis team improved to 3-0 in the Big Ten after they upset the Iowa Hawkeyes, 6-1, March 24. The Buckeyes dominated the singles matches winning five of six. At No. 1 Kristy Dascoli defeated Toni Neykova 6-4, 6-3. Monica Rincon won her ninth consecutive match with a sound 6-1, 6-4 win over Deni Alexandrova. At No. 3 Sadhaf Pervez (So., Warren, N.J.) dropped Pascale Veraverbeke 6-4, 7-6 (5).%^$
%^$At the Helm
%^$Coach Chuck Merzbacher (Minnesota, ’87), in his fifth season, has enjoyed much success since becoming the head man at OSU. He has compiled a 65-51 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 player’s 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 10 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%^$10. Kristy Dascoli 25-10 1998%^$
%^$Rincon on a Roll
%^$Monica Rincon has put together a tremendous winning streak. She has been victorious in her last seven matches and has not lost in over a month and a half. During the streak she has displayed the grit and determination that makes a champion. Three of her nine matches went three sets and in all three cases Rincon had to battle back from losing the first set. Her last loss came to Paola Palencia of Pepperdine on Feb. 15 during the ITA National Team Indoors. She is 20-5 and her winning percentage of .800 leads the team. (Mininum of 10 decisions)%^$
%^$Perfect Ten
%^$With the win over Iowa (March 24) the Buckeyes have not lost a Big Ten regular season match in their last ten outings. This is the OSU’s longest Big Ten regular-season winning streak since 1983-84 season. 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 18-10 record. In the fall she was 9-5 in tournament play and she is 11-5 in spring dual action. Her 20 wins tie her with Dascoli and Rincon to lead the team.%^$
%^$Double Trouble
%^$The tandem of Sadhaf Pervez and Laura Maloney (Sr., Barrington, Ill.) has been a consistent force for OSU at No. 2 doubles this spring. The duo has posted a team-best 11-4 dual match record. One of those wins was recorded at the No. 1 spot when they downed Arianna Rojas-Serpa and Rachael Stein of Akron.%^$
%^$All in a Weeks Work
%^$The Buckeyes are undefeated on Sunday, but over half of their wins have come on Saturday. A daily record breakdown follows.%^$
%^$
Sunday 2-0%^$Monday 0-0%^$Tuesday 0-0%^$Wednesday 0-0%^$Thursday 1-1%^$Friday 2-2%^$Saturday 6-2%^$
%^$Big Ten Perfection
%^$The Buckeys are a perfect 3-0 in conference play and are one of two teams with an unblemished record in the league. Northwestern is the other. At the 1-4 singles the Buckeyes are a combined 12-0.%^$
%^$Holding Serve
%^$OSU is almost unstoppable at home. The March 3 loss to Notre Dame 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 93-44, broke the old OSU mark of 81 wins, held by Maria Olazagatsti (1977-79).%^$
%^$In the Win Column
%^$In 16 matches, OSU has squared off against 12 teams ranked nationally. The Buckeyes hold a 7-5 record against ranked teams. They defeated No. 8 UCLA (5-2), No. 36 Iowa (6-1), No. 43 Minnesota (7-0), No. 62 Maryland (7-0), No. 64 Marquette (6-1), No. 75 Wisconsin (5-2), and No. 75 UNLV (4-3). OSU’s losses came to perennial powers No. 3 Duke, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 7 Pepperdine and No. 14 Tennessee. 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. 32 and Monica Rincon is No. 97. In doubles, Dascoli and Rincon are No. 41.%^$
%^$The Best in the Region
%^$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 is fierce, as eight conference teams, including Ohio State, are ranked by the ITA. Northwestern has the highest ranking at No. 11, followed by Ohio State (27), Iowa (32) Illinois (35), Indiana (38), Penn State (43), Michigan (63) and Purdue (70). Only Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin are not ranked.%^$
%^$The Spring Schedule
%^$The Buckeyes face a number of strong opponents in the spring. In addition to the conference schools, the Buckeyes have nine other ranked programs, including five Top 20 teams, on their schedule. Ohio State has faced Duke (3), Notre Dame (5), Pepperdine (7), UCLA (8) Tennessee (14), Maryland (62) and Marquette (64). The Buckeyes will face No. 28 Kentucky and No. 75 UNLV.
