Women’s Tennis Defeated by Alabama in NCAA Opening Round, 4-0 – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 10, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s tennis team lost to Alabama, 4-0, in the opening round of the 2002 NCAA Championships Friday in Knoxville, Tenn. Ohio State is eliminated from the tournament, while the Crimson Tide advance to play the winner of the match between No. 14 Tennessee and Marshall Saturday.
The loss ends the No. 37-ranked Buckeyes’ season. The squad was 19-7 on the year, setting the program record for wins in a season. No. 44 Alabama, a member of the Southeastern Conference, improves to 13-10.
The Crimson Tide opened the match by winning the doubles point. The first match off the court was at No. 1, where Alabama’s No. 56-ranked duo of Millie Begovic and Weyli Chan beat OSU’s No. 54-ranked tandem of Monica Rincon (Sr., Lapeer, Mich./West) and Meaghan Colville (So., Toronto, Ontario/Western Michigan), 8-4. Alabama clinched the doubles point at No. 3, where Becca Baum and Stefanie Leung beat the Buckeyes’ Michelle Matko (Jr., Aurora, Ill./Aurora West) and Lindsay Williams (So., Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Groves) in a close match, 8-6. The No. 2 match was suspended tied at five.
Alabama won the first three singles matches off the court to earn the victory. UA’s Baum topped Ohio State’s Claudia Castro (Sr., Dublin, Ohio/Aquinas (Wis.) in straight sets to put the Crimson Tide up, 2-0. Begovic beat Sadhaf Pervez (Jr., Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) at No. 3 for Alabama’s third point. Sophie Cremers clinched the match for the Tide, defeating Matko in a close match, 6-4, 6-4.
The other three singles matches were suspended. Rincon was leading Selia Mathew in the third set at No. 1, while Fisk was leading Jenny Ketchum in the third set at No. 2. The No. 5 match between OSU’s Williams and Chang still was in the second set. While the Buckeyes’ season is over, No. 68-ranked Rincon will compete as an individual in the 2002 NCAA Singles Championship. The tournament will start Monday, May 20 and continue through May 25 in Stanford, Calif.
Alabama 4, Ohio State 0
NCAA Championships, First Round
UT Varsity Courts
Knoxville, Tenn.
Singles
No. 1 Selia Mathew (UA) vs. #68 Monica Rincon (OSU) 5-7, 6-2, 1-2 suspended
No. 2 Jenny Ketchum (UA) vs. #96 Erica Fisk (OSU) 6-1, 3-6, 0-1 suspended
No. 3 Millie Begovic (UA) def. Sadhaf Pervez (OSU) 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 Sophie Cremers (UA) def. Michelle Matko (OSU) 6-4, 6-4*
No. 5 Weyli Chang (UA) vs. Lindsay Williams (OSU) 7-5, 3-4 suspended
No. 6 Becca Baum (UA) def. Claudia Castro (OSU) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 #56 Begovic/Chang (UA) def. #54 Rincon/ Meaghan Colville (OSU) 8-4
No. 2 Mathew/Ketchum (UA) vs. Fisk/Pervez (OSU) 5-5 abandoned
No. 3 Baum/Leung (UA) def Matko/Williams (OSU) 8-6
*Clinched match
Records: No. 37 Ohio State 19-7; No. 44 Alabama 13-10
