Coach Chuck Merzbacher wins 75th Match As A Buckeye – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/28/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 28, 2002
%^$COLUMBUS, Ohio-Ohio State women’s tennis coach Chuck Merzbacher (Minnesota ’87) became the fastest coach in OSU history to reach 75 wins after his team defeated Penn State, 4-3, Sunday at Jesse Owens West Recreation Center. Merzbacher, in his sixth year at the helm of the Buckeyes is 75-56 overall. For his career he is 208-119.%^$
%^$As a Buckeye, Merzbacher has coached two All-Americans, two All-Big Ten selections, a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, a Big Ten Freshman of the Year and two ITA Midwest Region Players to Watch.%^$
%^$Merzbacher came to Columbus after a successful four-year stint at Kansas and inherited a Buckeye team that finished 12-12 overall and ninth in the Big Ten with a 2-8 record. Merzbacher slowly but surely began to turn things around. In his first year, the 1996-97 season, the team went 12-13, but improved to 4-6 in the conference. In the 1997-98 season, Merzbacher beefed up his schedule adding the likes of perennial powers Notre Dame, Tennessee and Kentucky. The squad went 10-14 overall and 2-8 on the league, but learned what it took to be a player on the national stage.%^$
%^$The experience his team gained in his first two years began to show in his third. Merzbacher was also a strength in recruiting, bringing in big time name players. In the 1998-99 season his squad went 14-11 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten, but more importantly qualified for the NCAA Championships. In the same year Merzbacher sent a singles player and a doubles team to the NCAAs as well. It was the first time OSU was represented at the NCAA Singles Championships and only the second time a Buckeye duo competed in the NCAA Doubles Championship.%^$
%^$Since the 1998-99 season, qualifying for the NCAAs has become somewhat of a tradition at OSU. In the 1999-00 season the team went 18-8 overall and 9-2 in the league. They finished first in the Big Ten in the regular season. Again the team, a singles player and a doubles tandem advanced to NCAA competition. For the first time in program history the team won an NCAA match. OSU defeated Miami (Fla.), 5-3, in the first round before succumbing to the eventual national champions, Georgia, in the second round.%^$
%^$Last season, under the guidance of Merzbacher, the first players in the history of the program were named All-America. OSU finished 17-11 and 7-3 in the Big Ten, but again advanced the team, a player and a doubles duo to the NCAAs. Kristy Dascoli and Monica Rincon were named All-America for their play at the NCAAs. She was named All-America for finishing in the Top 20 and advancing to the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship. Dascoli and Rincon were named All-America after they advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Championships.%^$
%^$This season the Buckeyes are a 4-0 and 1-0 in the Big Ten.%^$
%^$Coach Merzbacher is the third-winningest coach in the history of the program. His 75-56 record trails LeeAnn Massucci’s (1986-96) 123-151 and Barbara Mueller’s (1979-85) 88-100.%^$
