Women’s Tennis Heads to ITA Midwest Regional – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Oct. 21, 2003
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Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s tennis team heads north to take on the best of the region at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships. Western Michigan University hosts the event in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Tournament History
The ITA Midwest Regional Championships began in 1981. This is the second consecutive year it will be held in the state of Michigan after Michigan State hosted in 2002.
Regional Competitors
Eight Buckeyes will be competing in the singles draw while four teams will vie for the doubles championship in Kalamazoo.
In singles, Erica Fisk (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind./Pike), Lindsay Williams (Sr., Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Grove) and Jackie Leskovar (Sr., Cambridge, Ontario/N.C. State) pre-qualified for the main draw and will begin competition Saturday. Lindsay Adams (Jr., Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island), Meredith Vincent (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Virginia Tech), Kristin Messmer (Fr., Lutherville, Md./McDonogh), Sonia Ruzimovsky (Fr., Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) and Anna Volberg (Fr., Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula) will compete in the 64-person qualifying tournament that takes place Thursday and Friday. Any of the women who compile a 3-0 record in the qualifying tournament will earn a spot in the main draw.
The 32-team doubles main draw begins on Friday. It features Buckeye duos of Fisk and Leskovar, Williams and Ruzimovsky, Volberg and Vincent and Adams and Meaghan Colville (Sr., Toronto, Ontario/Western Michigan).
ITA Notes
Kristin Messmer enters her first ITA Midwest Regional riding a three-match winning streek. After falling in the first round of her flight at the Kentucky Fall Classic to eventual champion Lara Maurer, Messmer did not lose another set. Her 3-1 record for the weekend allowed her to run her season record to 6-4.
Meaghan Colville is no stranger to the Western Michigan University campus. She spent her freshman season in Kalamazoo. As a Bronco, Colville compiled a singles record of 19-16 and went 28-10 in doubles.
Last Time Out
In its last time out, Ohio State traveled to Lexington, Ky., for the Kentucky Fall Classic. The trip to the Bluegrass State was a successful one for several Buckeyes.
Leading the way in doubles competition was the team of Emily Howard (So., Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) and Lindsay Bryan (Sr. New Orleans, La./Ursiline Academy). In winning the Red Flight championship, the pair slipped by Israel and Yarbrough of Abilene Christian in the semifinal before breezing past Hill of Marshall and Vest of Middle Tennessee State in the final.
In singles, freshman Anna Volberg reached the first flight final of her college career, before falling to Kentucky’s Lara Maurer, 6-2, 6-2. Volberg defeated Christine Simpson of Kentucky, Emily Bombersback of Purdue and Kelly Nelson of Notre Dame to advance to the final.
Last Year at ITA
At the 2002 ITA Midwest Regional Championship, held on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing, Mich., the doubles team of Erica Fisk and Meaghan Colville won two matches and advanced to the Round of 16. Jackie Leskovar ran off three consecutive victories to qualify for the main draw, however she was eliminated in the first round along with Erica Fisk and Lindsay Williams. The only Buckeye to advance in the main singles draw was Sadhaf Pervez. The now-departed senior won two matches before falling in the Round of 16.
Other Buckeyes playing in the 2003 event who were able to gain experience in 2002 are Lindsay Bryan and Lindsey Adams.
A Philadelphia Feeling
Ohio State traveled to Philadelphia, Pa., for the Cissie Leary Invitational and several Buckeyes enjoyed success. In her first action of the fall, Erica Fisk compiled a record of 4-1 in both the main draw and consolation play. Jackie Leskovar advanced to the round of 16 in the main singles draw before falling to No. 12 Alice Pirsu of Pennsylvania. Other Buckeyes to win first-round matches were Kristin Messmer , Lindsay Williams and Sonia Ruzimovsky.
In doubles, the team of Fisk and Leskovar won two matches and advanced to the round of eight before being beaten by No. 1 seed and No. 23 ranked tandem of Courtney Bergman and Susanna Lingman of Harvard. Two other Buckeye duos, Williams and Ruzimovsky and Meredith Vincent and Messmer, won first-round matches but were defeated in the round of 16.
Starting Strong
Ohio State’s first tournament of the year, the St. Mary’s Fall Classic, included two flight titles. In singles, Lindsay Adams was 3-0 for the weekend. On her way to winning Flight Seven, Adams defeated Seva Iwinski of Texas A&M, Erin Cohn of host Tennessee and Tanya Markovic of North Carolina. In doubles, the tandem of Lindsay Williams and Sonia Ruzimovsky were winners of Flight Two. After narrowly defeating Wake Forest’s Danielle Schwartz and Alexandra Hirsch in the opening round of the tournament (9-7), the OSU duo topped Roberta Spencer and Lauren Walker of Texas A&M in the second and beat Sara Anudsen and Caitlin Collins of North Carolina to claim the flight title.
Wasting No Time
Three Buckeyes saw their first collegiate singles action at the St. Mary’s Classic in Knoxville earlier this fall. Kristin Messmer and Sonia Ruzimovsky each won their first match by defeating Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. Ruzimovsky topped Elizabeth Proctor, while Messmer dispatched Sandie Knight and went on to finish third in her flight. Ohio State’s third freshman, Anna Volberg suffered defeat in her initial collegiate match but won her second, out-dueling North Carolina State’s Virginia Romero.
Summer Success on the Court
Buckeye senior Erica Fisk enjoyed a winning summer. In July, she traveled to Bloomington, Ind. and brought home the singles title from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Collegiate Summer Circuit Midwest Regional tournament. In the tournament, which Indiana University played host to, Fisk defeated Christine Buretz of Connecticut, Stephanie Malak of Emory, Kristina Stastny of Notre Dame, Dora Vastag of Indiana University and Linda Tran, also of Indiana, to take the championship. She needed a third-set super tiebreaker to win each of the final three matches.
Summer Success in the Classroom
Fisk’s accolades were not all won on the tennis court. She also was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar Athlete. Fisk, who is a senior, won the award by winning a varsity letter while maintaining a grade point average above 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale). A marketing major, she also has twice been recognized as Academic All-Big Ten and is a three-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.
Climbing the charts
Entering her senior year, Meaghan Colville owned a career doubles record of 75-36. That mark was already good enough for 10th best in school history and a strong year could see her move into the Top 5. Thus far this fall, Colville has picked up two victories, moving her into a tie with Susan Mitchell (1987-90) for eighth place. Kelly Story (1989-92) holds the Ohio State record with 118 wins
No Place Like Home
This season head coach Chuck Merzbacher welcomes to his team junior Meredith Vincent. A native of Cincinnati, Vincent saw her first action as a Buckeye this fall at the St. Mary’s Fall Classic after spending two years at Virginia Tech. While competing for the Hokies Vincent compiled a record of 24-27 playing often in the No. 2 or No. 3 position in the lineup.
Schedule To Be Challenging
Though they started the fall season on Tennessee’s home court in Knoxville, the Buckeyes will begin the 2004 regular season by playing host to the Lady Vols in Columbus. That match will be the first of 10 the Buckeyes will play this season against 2003 NCAA championship qualifiers. Other non-conference foes of note are Notre Dame, William and Mary, UNLV and Kentucky. Additionally, the coaches expect the Big Ten, which is traditionally known for having quality tennis play, to be unusually strong this year. Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana all are coming off of NCAA appearances and are primed to provide big challenges to all foes.
Recapping Last Season
Ohio State had a final 2003 record of 12-12. Its 6-4 Big Ten record was good enough to tie for 4th place in the conference. A majority of the matches were close, as 16 were decided by a score of 4-3. In those matches, the Buckeyes managed a record of 8-8. Doubles was a source of strength, as the team won the doubles point in all but five matches for the year. The season ended with an at-large berth in the NCAA Championship, the fifth consecutive NCAA appearance for the school, and a first round loss to Virginia.
Next Up
ITA Midwest Regional champions will join the winners of the other eight regions at the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, Nov. 6-9, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Ohio State next takes the court Nov. 5-9, for the Women’s Fall Desert Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif.
