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.
