BU and Iowa are Coming to Columbus – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 14, 2002
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%^$COLUMBUS, Ohio-The Ohio State women’s tennis team (13-2, 2-1 Big Ten) plays host to the Boston University Terriers Saturday in the first of two matches this weekend. The Buckeyes will face off against the east coast squad at 10 a.m. The No. 40 Buckeyes round out the weekend with a Big Ten matchup vs. the nationally ranked (50th) Iowa Hawkeyes (3-6, 1-1 Big Ten) on Sunday at 10 a.m. The matches are scheduled for outdoors at the Stickney Tennis Center but may be moved inside Jesse Owens West Recreation Center in the event of inclement weather. Note the time for the Iowa match had been listed at 11 a.m. but has been changed because of travel considerations for the Hawkeyes.%^$
%^$IN THE RANKINGS
%^$The Buckeyes were ranked 40th in the most recent release of the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (March 13).%^$
%^$The Individuals
%^$Three Buckeyes hold positions in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings in singles. Sophomore Erica Fisk is the highest ranked Buckeye, with a career-high ranking of No. 48. Senior Monica Rincon is 54th in the nation, which also is a career best. Sadhaf Pervez, a junior, is ranked 119th. The doubles team of Rincon and Meaghan Colville is ranked 56th in the nation, its first national ranking. The next individual rankings will be released March 20 and will be available on-line at www.itatennis.com.%^$
%^$How The Rankings Work
%^$A player or team’s average used for ranking is determined by: taking the total number of ranking points (based on their seven best wins) divided by the number of countable matches played (determined by the ITA – it is seven this week) added to points from losses. The ranking points for wins and losses are based on the opponent’s ranking in the nation and change every week. A more thorough explanation is available on-line at www.itatennis.com.%^$
%^$A Record to Break
%^$The Buckeyes tied the all-time mark for consecutive wins at home (11) this past week with their win against Drake. The Buckeyes can eclipse the mark Saturday when they play host to the BU Terriers.%^$
%^$Scouting the Boston University Terriers
%^$Boston University, a member of the American East Conference, enters this weekend with a record of 1-4 since February 2nd. However, the Terriers should not be taken lightly as three of their four losses have come to nationally ranked teams (Harvard, Yale and Virginia). BU’s lone win this spring season came against the Syracuse Orangemen.%^$
%^$Lesley Sheehan is at her 16th season as the head coach of the Terriers and her 20th overall. The Terriers were 15-6 overall last year, en route to winning the American East Conference Tournament. Sheehan is 178-103 as head coach of the Terriers.%^$
%^$The Series
%^$The match Saturday between the Buckeyes and Terriers will be the first ever meeting between the two squads.%^$
%^$Scouting the Iowa Hawkeyes
%^$Iowa enters the match Sunday with an overall mark of 3-6 on the season. The squad is 1-1 in the Big Ten Conference. The Hawkeyes must travel to face Big Ten opponent and No. 72-ranked Penn State Saturday before coming to Columbus.%^$
%^$Leading the Hawkeyes at the No. 1 singles position is Toni Neykova. Iowa’s Cassie Haas is ranked 80th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and is the team’s third singles player.%^$
%^$Paul Wardlaw is in his fifth season at the helm of the Hawkeyes. His all-time record stands at 53-42. He also is responsible for the school’s highest winning percentage ever in women’s tennis (.570).%^$
%^$The Series
%^$Iowa and Ohio State are very familiar with each other, as this will be the 27th meeting in series history. Ohio State leads the all-time series, 16-10. The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes met twice last season. On March 24th the Buckeyes won in Iowa City. 6-1. The squads met again in the Big Ten tournament in Columbus, with Ohio State prevailing, 4-2.%^$
%^$CLIMBING THE CHARTS
%^$Monica Rincon’s 95 career wins place her second on OSU’s all-time singles wins list. At the ITA Midwest Regional Tournament Oct. 28, Rincon picked up her 81st and 82nd career wins, 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.%^$
%^$Toward the Top
%^$With 68 and 66 career singles wins respectively, Sadhaf Pervez and Michelle Matko moved into the Top 10 all-time in program history in singles wins. Pervez is tied for fifth, while Matko is tied for the eighth spot. Monica Rincon is second, just nine behind all-time leader Kristy Dascoli.%^$
%^$All-Time Singles Wins at OSU
%^$1. Kristy Dascoli, 104 (1988-01)
%^$2. Monica Rincon, 95 (1999-present)
%^$3. Maria Olazagatski, 81 (1977-79)
%^$4. Linda Magid, 78 (1995-96)
%^$5. Leann Grimes, 68 (1975-78)
%^$5. Sadhaf Pervez, 68 (2000-present)
%^$7. Ann Wilson, 67 (1974-77)
%^$8. Abigail Villena, 66 (1990-93)
%^$8. Michelle Matko, 66 (1999-present)
%^$10. Ann Beaudoin, 65 (1971-82)
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%^$Sweep!
%^$The Buckeyes posted 7-0 shutout wins over their three opponents last week – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and Drake.%^$
%^$OSU’s Last Time Out
%^$OSU 7, Drake 0
%^$The Ohio State women’s tennis extended its home winning streak to 11 with a victory over Drake University, 7-0, Saturday at Jesse Owens West Recreation Center. Ohio State won the doubles point, as all three teams posted wins. At No. 1, the Buckeyes’ No. 56-ranked duo of Monica Rincon and Meaghan Colville beat Cecily Dubusker and Cynthia Skogerboe, 8-2. At No. 2, OSU’s Erica Fisk and Sadhaf Pervez won easily, beating Annali de Bruyn and Jenny Saluri, 8-3. Claudia Castro and Lindsay Adams won at No. 3, beating Melinda Fenimore and Marie Mainil, 8-3.%^$
%^$The Buckeyes also swept the singles competition, including four straight-set wins. No. 54 Rincon defeated Dubusker, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 1, while No. 48 Fisk posted a win over de Bruyn, 5-7, 6-4, (7). Pervez won at No. 3 over Skogerboe and Matko won in straight sets over Fenimore, 6-2, 6-0. Meaghan Colville kept the ball rolling for the Bucks as she defeated Saluri, 6-2, 6-0. Lindsay Adams rounded out the rotation for OSU with a straight set victory over the Bulldog’s Hogan.%^$
%^$Blanks
%^$The Buckeyes shutout victory over Drake was their sixth such victory of the season and the second of the day. The squad also shut out Dayton, Akron, West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Bowling Green. Last season, the team had five shutouts.%^$
%^$The Buckeye State
%^$The Buckeyes are a perfect 4-0 on the season against in-state teams. Ohio State topped Dayton, Akron, Bowling Green and Cincinnati. The meeting between OSU and Bowling Green marked the last in-state match of the season for the Buckeyes.%^$
%^$Moving IN
%^$Sophomore Erica Fisk (No. 49) and junior Sadhaf Pervez (No. 85) earned the first national rankings of their careers in the rankings released by the ITA Feb. 22. They both remained in the rankings the next week, with Fisk moving up to No. 48. Pervez fell to No. 119.%^$
%^$What a Way to Start
%^$Sophomore Lindsay Williams had her 10-match winning streak stopped against Notre Dame. Williams opened the spring with wins in her first 10 matches, mainly at the No. 5 position. This season, she is 14-7 overall, including 11-2 in the spring.%^$
%^$The Leader
%^$Erica Fisk leads the team in victories with 20 on the season.%^$
%^$Rolling Along
%^$Senior Monica Rincon is 12-1 in the spring season, with all of her matches at the No. 1 position. Her only loss of the dual match season came against No. 71-ranked Vanessa Rauh of Wisconsin. Against Notre Dame, Rincon topped No. 73 Becky Varnum in a match tiebreaker. Rincon moved from No. 85 to a career-best ranking of No. 54 in the most recent rankings. On the year, Rincon is 19-6 in singles.%^$
%^$A Good Sign
%^$When the Buckeyes win the doubles point this season, they are 13-1. The squad has failed to win the doubles point in just one match this season (at Wisconsin).%^$
%^$The Best
%^$The Buckeyes’ 8-0 record (with all the wins coming at home) was the best start to a season for the program since at least the 1985-86 season. The squad’s mark for consecutive wins is nine, set in the 2000 season.%^$
%^$In The Conference
%^$The Buckeyes are 2-1 in the Big Ten Conference so far this season. The squad has wins over Penn State and Minnesota and fell to Wisconsin. They face their fourth conference match when they go up against Iowa Sunday.%^$
%^$At the Helm
%^$Chuck Merzbacher is in his sixth season at the helm. He has enjoyed much success since becoming the head man at OSU, compiling an 82-59 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.%^$
%^$A Milestone
%^$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. For his career, spanning more than 11 years, he is 213-121.%^$
%^$Upset
%^$The Buckeyes’ unranked doubles tandem of Meaghan Colville and Monica Rincon beat Notre Dame’s No. 30-ranked Lindsey Green and Becky Varnum, 8-6, Saturday. That win moved the Buckeye duo into the national rankings. The Ohio State tandem is 10-3 this spring and 12-3 overall.%^$
%^$The Doubles Story
%^$The Buckeyes are 39-6 in doubles matches this spring. The squad has swept the doubles matches in eight matches and has lost the doubles point just once. The squad was swept in doubles by Wisconsin, lost two doubles matches to Notre Dame and lost one doubles match each to Maryland, Minnesota and DePaul.%^$
%^$HOME COOKING
%^$The Buckeyes defend their home turf well. They are off to a perfect 11-0 start this year, when playing 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 27-3 when playing in Columbus. The Bucks have a chance to break the consecutive home wins record this Saturday against Boston University.%^$
%^$Winners Everywhere
%^$Ohio State has won 68-of-91 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.%^$
%^$The Century Mark
%^$The Buckeyes went over the 100-win mark with their six singles wins against Cincinnati. The squad now has 118 singles wins this season.%^$
%^$DOUBLE FIGURES
%^$Six Buckeyes – Erica Fisk, Michelle Matko, Sadhaf Pervez, Monica Rincon, Lindsay Williams and Meaghan Colville – all have posted 10 or more singles wins this season. The team is led by Fisk with 20 and Rincon with 19 victories each this year. Pervez is third with 17, while Matko has 16, Williams 14 and Colville 12. Lindsay Adams is one win away from the 10-win mark.%^$
%^$A Tough Road
%^$This season, the Buckeyes will face or have faced 14 teams ranked by the ITA in the rankings released March 13. Upcoming opponents include Kentucky (11), Northwestern (14), Indiana (30), Illinois (46), Iowa (50), Purdue (43), Michigan (75t) and Michigan State (75t). The Buckeyes have defeated Kansas (37), Penn State (73), DePaul (75t) and Virginia Tech (74). OSU’s only losses came against No. 32 Wisconsin and No. 17 Notre Dame. The Buckeyes also defeated Maryland, who dropped out of the rankings this week.%^$
%^$Nearly Perfect
%^$The Buckeyes have lost just one match at No. 2 doubles this season, posting a combined mark of 14-1.%^$
%^$Up Next
%^$The Buckeyes will hit the road for two Big Ten matches in the state of Michigan. Ohio State will face the Wolverines in Ann Arbor at 11 a.m. April 6 and the MSU Spartans at 10 a.m. April 7.%^$
%^$BUCKEYES ONLINE
%^$Learn more about women’s tennis and OSU’s 34 other varsity sports at the athletic department’s official Web site, ohiostatebuckeyes.com%^$
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Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings%^$Administered by the ITA%^$(released March 13)%^$ Team Votes%^$1. Georgia (13-0) 600%^$2. Vanderbilt (17-2) 592%^$3. Stanford (12-1) 584%^$4. Duke (9-1) 576%^$5. Wake Forest (11-1) 565%^$6. Florida (7-0) 564%^$7. Texas (8-0) 540%^$8. Arizona State (7-2) 539%^$9. UCLA (9-2) 537%^$10. Tennessee (12-4) 533%^$11. Kentucky (11-3) 518%^$t12.Southern California (9-4) 512%^$t12.North Carolina (9-3) 512%^$14. Northwestern (10-4) 497%^$15. Fresno State (7-3) 491%^$16. California (8-2) 480%^$17. Notre Dame (10-5) 474%^$18. Baylor (8-2) 464%^$19. Washington (11-3) 451%^$20. Alabama (9-3) 450%^$21. Georgia Tech (10-2) 438%^$22. South Carolina (10-1) 429%^$23. William & Mary (9-4) 420%^$24. Texas A&M (11-2) 418%^$25. Virginia Commonwealth (7-1) 406%^$40. Ohio State (13-2) 292%^$source: www.itatennis.com%^$
