Ohio State Concludes Road Trip at Indiana – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 30, 2004
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The Ohio State women’s tennis team ends at 10-match road trip with a match at Indiana at 10 a.m. at the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington, Ind. The Buckeyes (7-8, 2-1 Big Ten) enter the clash with the Hoosiers (9-6, 1-1) tied with Purdue, Illinois and Iowa for third place in the Big Ten.
Scouting Indiana
No. 34 Indiana is led by head coach Lin Loring, the school’s all-time winningest tennis coach with 596 victories in 27 years in Bloomington.
In singles, No. 39 Dora Vastag, a junior, has gone 9-5 this spring and 14-7 overall.
In doubles, the Hoosiers boast the No. 38 ranked duo of Martina Grimm and Sarah Batty. Grimm and Batty are 8-3 on the season.
Indiana leads the all-time series with Ohio State, 25-5, but the Buckeyes are riding a two-match winning streak against the Hoosiers after winning last year in Columbus, 5-2, and in 2002 in Bloomington, 4-3.
Last Time Out
Ohio State split a pair of weekend matches, beating Michigan State, 4-3, on Saturday and falling to No. 20 Michigan, 7-0.
Against the Spartans, the Buckeyes won with victories at the Top 4 positions. No. 70 Lindsay Williams (Sr., Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Grove) topped Keri Thompson, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 1, while Erica Fisk (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) used three sets to beat Caroline Lay, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 2. Emily DeCamilla (Jr., Sacramento, Calif./Maryland) swept Sarah Andrews at the No. 3 position, 6-4, 6-2, and senior Lindsey Adams (Sr., Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) earned a three-set victory at No. 4 over Shelly Brady, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, to provide the winning margin for the Buckeyes. Adams Surpasses Career High
After seeing little dual match action in her first two seasons at Ohio State, junior Lindsey Adams has played in every dual match of the spring season and already has doubled her career high in dual victories from three to six. Adams also has surpassed her career high for overall singles victories in a season with 14 thus far this season after earning nine in both her freshman and sophomore campaigns.
Fisk Rewriting Record Books
This season senior Erica Fisk has entered the Top 10 in all-time wins in singles and doubles at Ohio State.
In singles, Fisk has 12 wins this season and 74 for her career, moving her past Michelle Matko (1998-2003) to sixth in all-time singles victories behind No. 5 Linda Magid’s 78.
With 12 doubles victories this season, Fisk now has 75 all-time, vaulting her into the Top 10 at No. 10, passing Laura Schubert (1976-79).
Williams/Colville Pace Doubles
The Buckeyes have once again been strong in doubles this season, having won the doubles point in nine of 15 matches this season. Leading the way has been the senior duo of Lindsay Williams and Meaghan Colville. Playing mostly at the No. 2 position, they have racked up a team-leading nine wins.
Williams’ 16 doubles victories lead Ohio State and equal her previous career high, set last season.
Blanked
After recording no shutouts last season, the Buckeyes already have two this spring. In addition to its blanking of Cleveland State Feb. 22, Ohio State shut out Penn State Feb. 15.
Upset Specials
After 15 dual matches, three Buckeyes own victories over ranked opponents.
In singles, Lindsay Williams knocked off No. 13 Tammy Encina of Tennessee, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, Jan. 25 and No. 19 Gitte Ostermann of Nebraska, 6-0, 6-3, Feb. 20.
In doubles, senior duo Erica Fisk and Jackie Leskovar knocked off No. 50 team Encina and Majen Immink of Tennessee, 9-8 (3), Jan. 25 and William and Mary’s No. 21-ranked Megan Muth and Amy Wei in a tiebreak, 9-8, Feb. 29.
Buckeyes in Rankings
Lindsay Williams checks in at No. 70 in the ITA National Rankings, released March 23.
Two Buckeyes, Erica Fisk and Jackie Leskovar were ranked in the Midwest regional rankings released Dec. 4. Leskovar is No. 28 while Fisk holds down the No. 30 spot.
Wrapping Up Autumn
The Buckeyes enjoyed a competitive fall season, appearing in five tournaments around the Midwest. The Buckeyes competed in the St. Mary’s Fall Classic, the Cissie Leary Invitational, the Kentucky Fall Classic and the Fall Desert Collegiate Classic and had eight student-athletes qualify for the ITA Midwest Regional in either singles, doubles or both.
Buckeyes Welcome Dascoli
Former Ohio State women’s tennis stand out Kristy Dascoli (1999-2001) has been named assistant coach for the squad.
OSU’s all-time singles wins leader with 104, Dascoli was named Ohio State’s Player of the Century for women’s tennis and is one of the best players ever to play in the Big Ten. Dascoli was the first OSU player to be named an All-American in singles competition. She was honored as the Big Ten Player of the Year following both the 2000 and 2001 seasons and is the only player in conference history to win the award outright in back-to-back seasons. Dascoli was the Big Ten Player of the Month three times (April 1999, April 2000 and March ’01) and posted an incredible 35-4 Big Ten regular season record in her four years at OSU. In 2001, she set a program record by winning 31 overall singles matches. In addition, Dascoli played No. 1 singles her entire career, qualified for the NCAA singles championships in each of her four years and was named All-Big Ten four consecutive years. In doubles, she was a four-time NCAA championship participant and was All-American in 2001.
Since graduating with a degree in psychology, Dascoli has played professionally and has wins over several women ranked in the Top 200. She still plays professionally and now is in graduate school working on her master’s degree in human development and family science.
Recruiting Update
Caitlin O’Keefe, a senior at Troy High School in Troy, Mich., and Silvia Prajescu of Canada signed NCAA National Letters of Intent join the Buckeyes’ tennis team for the 2004 fall season.
O’Keefe recently won her third consecutive Division I state singles championship while leading her team to its first state team title. For her career, O’Keefe was undefeated in conference play and sported an overall high school record of 136-2. She enjoyed undefeated seasons during both her junior and senior years. She also was an all-state selection four times and an All-American three times. Along with her success on the court, O’Keefe was an Academic All-American in 2003 and received the 2003 Hoxie Award, given by the Southeast Michigan Tennis Association board of directors for the high school athlete who best demonstrates sportsmanship and contributes to the game of tennis in a positive way.
Prajescu was ranked No. 5 in Canada for Under-16 in 2002 and finished in the Top 10 at the Under-16 Singles National Indoor Championships. She advanced to the semifinals in doubles of the same tournament. In 2001 she was ranked among the Top 8 in singles at the Under-16 Outdoor National Championships and advanced to the quarterfinals in doubles.
Next Up
Following their match with Indiana, Ohio State returns home for a pair of weekend matches. The Buckeyes face Purdue at 11 a.m. April 10 and No. 25 Illinois at 11 a.m. April 11 at the Stickney Tennis Center.
