Women’s Tennis Continues Homestand – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/31/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 31, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio-The Ohio State women’s tennis team (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) looks to stay unbeaten on the spring season with two non-conference matches this weekend. The Buckeyes will face Virginia Tech (3-0) at 2:30 p.m. Friday and play host to Marquette (1-2) at 10 a.m. Sunday. The matches will be contested at Jesse Owens West Recreation.
IN THE RANKINGS
The second team rankings of the year were released Jan. 30 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association The Buckeyes were ranked No. 33, one spot down from their position in the first release. The squad finished last season with a No. 33 ranking after achieving a program-high ranking No. 19 earlier in the year.
THE SEASON SO FAR
The Buckeyes are undefeated on the season, going a perfect 4-0 to start the spring. The squad posted shutouts in its first three matches before topping Penn State, 4-3.
A GOOD START
The Buckeyes are 1-0 in the Big Ten Conference after topping Penn State at home, 4-3, Sunday. The match marked the first league action this season.
A MILESTONE
The win over Penn State marked the 75th victory for head coach Chuck Merzbacher at the helm of the Buckeyes. He is the fastest in Buckeye history to reach 75 wins. Through his first five years, Merzbacher has averaged 14.2 wins a year. For his career, spanning more than 11 years, he is 207-119.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
With an exceptionally deep lineup the Buckeyes are capable of posting wins at all six singles spots. Leading the way is All-American Monica Rincon. The senior is 85-41 for her career and with 15 more wins would become only the second Buckeye to reach the 100-win mark. Two other players-Michelle Matko and Sadhaf Pervez-have more than 50 wins in their career. In the fall coach Merzbacher used 12 different doubles combinations. Three of them competed in more than seven matches together, with two of the three posting five wins a piece. OHIO STATE LAST WEEKEND
The Buckeyes posted two wins last weekend to move to 4-0 on the season. Saturday, Ohio State pushed its all-time record against West Virginia to a perfect 11-0 with a 7-0 win at Jesse Owens West Recreational Center. The win was the third consecutive shutout for the squad. OSU was impressive at all of the singles positions. Monica Rincon saw her first action in the spring season. The senior was impressive against WVU, defeating Anna Marie Underwood in straight sets at No. 1. Erica Fisk dropped Courtney Howell at No. 2 and Sadhaf Pervez won easily at No. 3 topping Maia Binder. In doubles the Buckeyes won all three matches by a combined score of 24-10. Rincon teamed with Meaghan Colville to notch an 8-2 win against Underwood and Howell at the No. 1 position. At No. 2 Fisk and Pervez dropped Binder and Jenny Watkins, 8-3. Michelle Matko and Lindsay Williams improved their doubles mark to 8-3 with an 8-5 win against Gretchen Unger and Emma Jeremiejczk. Against Penn State in the Big Ten opener for both schools, the Buckeyes pulled out a 4-3 win. The squad opened the match by winning all three doubles matches to earn the doubles point. Rincon (No. 1), Fisk (No. 2) and Williams (No. 5) all posted wins to lead the Buckeyes to a split of the singles matches and the wins.
THE LEADER
Chuck Merzbacher returns for his sixth season at the helm. He has enjoyed much success since becoming the head man at OSU, compiling a 74-56 record. Under the guidance of Merzbacher the program has sent the team, a singles player and a doubles tandem to the NCAA Championships the past three years. In his tenure at OSU, Merzbacher has coached two All-Americans, a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, a Big Ten Freshman of the Year and two ITA Midwest Region Players to Watch.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH
Virginia Tech, a member of the BIG EAST Conference, is 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. The squad has not lost a match yet this season, defeating Appalachian State, Seton Hall and Rutgers by the score of 7-0. The team is led by Kristen Stubbs, who is 3-0 at the No. 1 spot. Carolyn Kramer and Meredith Vincent are undefeated at No. 1 singles this spring. The No. 2 duo of Kristen Stubbs and Felice Lam are 10-2 overall this season. Lisa Hart is in her second year at the helm for Virginia Tech.
BUCKEYES vs. HOKIES
Ohio State leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech, 1-0. The Buckeyes posted a 6-3 win in 1992 in the first meeting between the squads.
SCOUTING MARQUETTE
The Golden Eagles are 1-2 on the year. The opened the spring season with a 6-1 victory over Illinois-Chicago before losing both of their matches last weekend, losing to No. 3 Duke (0-7) and Minnesota (2-5). Freshman Gen Charron plays at No. 1 singles and joins classmate Veronica Garcia Briseno at No. 1 doubles. Marquette competes in Conference USA. Judy Bronson is in her 17th year at the helm of the Golden Eagles.
BUCKEYES vs. GOLDEN EAGLES
Ohio State leads the all-time series with Marquette, 7-3. Last year, the Buckeyes posted a 6-1 win over the Golden Eagles at Marquette. OSU won five-of-six singles matches and swept in doubles.
DOUBLES DOMINATION
In the spring season the Buckeyes are a perfect 12-0 in doubles matches. Michelle Matko and Lindsay Williams are the only tandem to compete together in all four matches. As a team the Buckeyes have beat their opponents by a combined 96-33. On average, the Buckeyes win doubles matches 8-2.7.
HOME COOKING
The Buckeyes defend their home turf well. They are off to a perfect 4-0 start this year continuing their success at home. Last year the squad was 7-3 when playing at home and was a perfect 11-0 in 1999-00. Since the 1999-00 season OSU is 22-3 when playing in Columbus.
WINNERS EVERYWHERE
OSU has won 21-of-24 singles matches it has competed in, with a number of players playing at a number of positions. Monica Rincon, Sadhaf Pervez and Michelle Matko all have won matches at No. 1 this year. Michelle Matko and Lindsay Williams are the only Buckeyes to play in all three team matches.
DOUBLE ADDITION
Sophomore Meaghan Colville has been a strong addition to the Buckeye lineup. She has posted 12 doubles wins and just two losses, a winning percentage of 85.7 percent. In the spring she is 4-0, playing two matches at No. 1 each with Monica Rincon and Sadhaf Pervez. Colville has gone 8-5 in singles overall this year.
DOUBLE FIGURES
Four Buckeyes – Meaghan Colville, Sadhaf Pervez, Michelle Matko and Lindsay Williams – have posted double-digit wins in doubles this season. Colville and Pervez rank first with 12 wins each, followed by Matko and Williams with 10.
A TOUGH ROAD
This season, the buckeyes will face 12 teams ranked by the ITA in the rankings released Jan. 30. The squad will face three Top 25 teams Notre Dame (No. 13), Northwestern (17) and Kentucky (24). The Buckeyes’ other ranked opponents are Illinois (30), Indiana (40), Kansas (53), Purdue (62), Michigan (69), Wisconsin (73), Minnesota (t75) and Virginia Tech (t75). Ohio State already defeated No. 52 Penn State, 4-3.
THE LEADER
Sophomore Erica Fisk leads the Buckeyes with a record of 12-4, including a mark of 2-0 at No. 2 singles in the spring.
PERFECT
The Buckeyes have not lost a match at the No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 singles spots this spring, going a perfect 4-0 at each.
A COMBINATION OF LINDSAYS (OR LINDSEYS)
The three Lindsays on the Ohio State roster – Linsdey Adams, Lindsay Bryan and Lindsay Williams – all have posted wins at No. 5 singles to keep the Buckeyes undefeated at the position.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Monica Rincon’s 85 career wins place her second on OSU’s all-time singles wins list. Oct. 28 at the ITA Midwest Regional Tournament, Rincon picked up her 81st and 82nd career win, catapulting her ahead of Maria Olazagatsti (1977-79, 81-20) into second place. OSU’s all-time singles wins leader is Kristy Dascoli, who finished her career (1998-01) with 104 wins.
DYNAMIC DUO
Perhaps the most steady Buckeye doubles team is the duo of Michelle Matko and Lindsay Williams. The two competed in all three tournaments together and recorded an overall record of 5-3. They are 4-0 in the spring season for an overall record of 9-3. In the fall, one of their losses came to fellow teammates Monica Rincon and Erica Fisk.
LET’S PLAY THREE
In singles play combined the Buckeyes have played 20 three-set matches. Their overall record is 12-8. Erica Fisk leads the charge with a 5-1 record in matches that go three sets. Michelle Matko follows with a 4-1 mark. Monica Rincon is next with a steady 2-2 record. Lindsay Bryan is 0-1 when an extra stanza is needed and Lindsay Williams is 1-3.
The INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
The Buckeyes are well represented in the individual national rankings released Dec. 11 Monica Rincon earned a career-best ranking at No. 56, up one spot from No. 57. She ended last year ranked No. 83. In doubles, the tandem of Rincon and Erica Fisk, who never had played doubles with each other before the 2001 summer circuit, garnered a No. 47 ranking.
REPRESENTED IN THE REGION
Four OSU players are ranked in the Midwest region rankings released Dec. 14. Rincon is ranked No. 5 followed by No. 8 Fisk. Sadhaf Pervez is No. 13. In doubles the duo of Rincon and Meaghan Colville is ranked No. 15. The tandem combined to go 2-0 in fall play and are 2-0 in the spring season.
BIG START FOR BIG TEN
The Big Ten always proves to be a tough conference to play in and the results from the beginning of the season prove that. After the opening two weekends of the spring season, Big Ten teams are a combined 16-7 (as of Jan. 29). The Buckeyes and Indiana lead the league with 4-0 starts. Michigan and Illinois are tied for third with two wins each.
MATKO BACK IN ACTION
Michelle Matko is back for the Buckeyes for the 2001-02 season after taking a medical redshirt last year because of a knee injury. She is 3-1 in the spring season. She has registered wins at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 spots. Matko is a much welcomed addition to the young squad. For her career Matko is 58-29 and will bring leadership to a young team. In fall tournaments the Aurora, Ill. native went 5-4. She has a year of eligibility remaining after this season.
ALL-AMERICAN TOURNAMENT
With an 8-6 win against North Carolina’s Kendall Cline and Texas Christian’s Saber Pierce on Aug. 14 in the doubles final at the ITA National Summer Championships, Monica Rincon and Erica Fisk qualified for the All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The mid-October tournament was loaded with the best doubles teams in the nation. The Buckeye duo went 0-2, but gained valuable experience that will help them during the regular season. In the first round, Rincon and Fisk fell to 16th-ranked Lauren Barnikow and Erin Burdette of Stanford, 8-5. In the consolation round, the No. 10 duo of Carolina Mayorga and Sarah Witten of Kentucky defeated Rincon and Fisk, 9-7.
BRING ‘EM ON
In the 12 fall tournament matches senior Monica Rincon played in, she lined up across the net with a ranked player seven times. In those matches she posted a 3-4 record while compiling an overall mark of 7-5.
FIRST WINS
Three players picked up their first collegiate wins as a Buckeye during fall tournament play. Sophomore Meaghan Colville, a transfer from Western Michigan, won her first match as a member of the Buckeye family dropping Leena Krisnaswamy of Columbia, 6-1, 6-4, at the Cissie Leary Invitational. Freshmen Lindsay Bryan and Lindsey Adams won their first collegiate matches at the Cissie Leary. Bryan, of New Orleans, La., defeated Seton Hall’s Nicole Cercone, 6-2, 7-6 and Mercer Island, Wash., native Adams, topped Linda Leibfarth of Penn, 6-2, 7-6.
RECAPPING LAST SEASON
OSU finished the 2000-01 season with a mark of 17-11 overall and 7-3 in the Big Ten. For the third consecutive year the Buckeyes advanced the team, a singles player and a doubles team to the NCAA Championships. OSU finished the season ranked No. 33. Senior Kristy Dascoli and junior Monica Rincon became the first All-Americans in program history after their stellar play at the NCAA singles and doubles championships. Twentieth ranked-Dascoli advanced to the quarterfinals in singles and then partnered with Rincon to advance to the quarterfinals in doubles. Both also were named All-Big Ten. Dascoli, two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, leaves as one of the greatest players ever to grace the courts in the conference. She is OSU’s all-time wins leader with 104 and set a program record for single-season wins last year with 31.
NEXT UP FOR THE BUCKEYES
OSU continues its homestand with matches against Maryland and Kansas. The Buckeyes and Terrapins will face off at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 15, while the Jayhawks and Buckeyes will play at 10 a.m. Feb. 17. Both matches will be contested at Jesse Owens West recreation Center. Admission is free.
BUCKEYES ONLINE
Learn more about women’s tennis and OSU’s 34 other varsity sports at the athletic department’s official Web site, ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
