Women’s Tennis to Compete in Fourth Consecutive NCAA Tournament – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 2, 2002
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2002 NCAA Championship Bracket in PDF Format
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%^$COLUMBUS, Ohio – The NCAA today announced the Ohio State women’s tennis team has been selected to compete in the 64-team women’s tennis championship. The Buckeyes will open play against Alabama in Knoxville, Tenn., May 10. The NCAA also announced Ohio State senior Monica Rincon (Lapeer, Mich./West) has been selected to compete in the 2002 NCAA Singles Championship.%^$
%^$”We’ve qualified for the NCAA tournament four years in a row,” Chuck Merzbacher, Ohio State head coach, said. “I’m really happy for our seniors (Rincon and Claudia Castro) to be able to say they’ve been there all four years. It’s great to keep building on our tradition.”%^$
%^$The Buckeyes, 19-6 overall, were one of 33 teams selected at-large to compete for the national title. This marks the Buckeyes’ fourth consecutive and fifth overall appearance in the NCAA tournament. The squad is 1-4 all-time in NCAA play, with its win coming over Miami (Fla.) in 2000.%^$
%^$The No. 37-ranked Buckeyes will face No. 44 Alabama (12-10) of the Southeastern Conference in the first round. SEC-member and 14th-ranked Tennessee, the No. 13 seed in the tournament will face off against No. 74 Marshall (21-7), which earned the Mid-American Conference’s automatic bid. The teams that advance out of the first round will face each other in the second round May 11, with the winner earning a spot in the round of 16. Exact times of the first and second round matches have not yet been released.%^$
%^$This marks Rincon’s first appearance in the singles field. Rincon, who is ranked 68th in the nation, has 101 career wins, second all-time at Ohio State. She is 25-9 this season. Rincon earned All-America honors last season after reaching the quarterfinals of the doubles championship.%^$
%^$Ohio State and Alabama have met twice, with the Crimson Tide winning both matches (8-1 in 1991 and 6-3 in 1988). OSU is 2-6 all-time against the Lady Vols, including a 5-2 loss last season. The Buckeyes and Thundering Herd met in 1999, with OSU posting a 7-0 victory.%^$
%^$The winners of each of 16 regional sites advance to the national championship, which will be held May 16-19 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium in Stanford, Calif. The singles championship will follow, May 20-25.
