Women’s Tennis Falls to Illinois, 4-3 – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 21, 2001
COLUMBUS, Ohio– The Ohio State women’s tennis fell to conference opponent Illinois Saturday afternoon, 4-3, in a match that had major seeding implications for the upcoming Big Ten tournament. Both teams were tied in the Big Ten with 7-1 marks sitting one match behind the leader Northwestern. With the win the Illini (14-6, 8-1 Big Ten) are guaranteed no worse than a No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Buckeyes (16-8, 7-2 Big Ten) need to beat Northwestern tomorrow to solidify a No. 3 seed. OSU is guaranteed at least a No. 4 seed.
The match was played indoors at the Atkins Tennis Center due to steady 30 mph gusts preventing play on the outdoor courts. The Buckeyes, as they have done most of the year, started off playing strong tennis. They won two of the three doubles matches to win the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead in the match. At No. 1 Kristy Dascoli (Sr., Bradenton, Fla.) and Monica Rincon (Jr., Lapeer, Mich.) cruised to an 8-4 win over Simone Kung and Michelle Webb. Laura Maloney (Sr., Barrington, Ill.) and Sadhaf Pervez (So., Warren, N.J.) won their team-best 17th dual match win. The duo dropped Carla Rosenberg and Eva Choe 8-4 at No. 2.
With the doubles point tightly secured the Buckeyes began their quest for three singles point. At No. 1 Dascoli dispatched Jennifer McGaffigan 6-2, 6-2 to give the Buckeyes a 2-0 lead. The win was Dascoli’s 99th of her career. She is one win shy of becoming the first female tennis player at OSU to reach the 100-win barrier. At No. 2 Rincon went three sets to defeat Eldina Fazlic 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. From there, OSU could not pull off any more singles matches and the Illini escaped with a 4-3 win. The Buckeyes participate in their last regular-season match of the year tomorrow at noon at Northwestern. OSU then returns to Columbus where it hosts the Big Ten tournament April 26-29 at the Stickney Tennis Center. Admission is free.
Illinois 4, Ohio State 3 April 21, 2001, Columbus, Ohio Singles 1. Kristy Dascoli, OSU def. Jennifer McGaffigan, ILL 6-2, 6-2 2. Monica Rincon, OSU def. Eldina Fazlic, ILL 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 3. Simone Kung, ILL def Sadhaf Pervez, OSU 7-6 (2), 6-2 4. Eva Choe, ILL def. Erica Fisk, OSU 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) 5. Michelle Webb, ILL def. Laura Maloney, OSU 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) 6. Carla Rosenberg, ILL def. Lindsay Williams, OSU 6-2, 6-4 Doubles 1. Dascoli/Rincon, OSU def. Kung/Webb, ILL 8-4 2. Pervez/Maloney, OSU def. Rosenberg/Choe, ILL 8-4 3. Fazlic/McGaffigan, ILL def. Fisk/Claudia Castro, OSU 8-5 Records Ohio State 16-8, 7-2 Big Ten Illinois 14-6, 8-1 Big Ten
