Ohio State Returns Home to Face Purdue and No. 17 Illinois – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 7, 2004
Columbus, Ohio – After completing a 10-match road trip, the Ohio State women’s tennis team returns home for the first time since February for two Big Ten matches. The Buckeyes (7-9, 2-2 Big Ten) will take on Purdue at 11 a.m. Saturday and No. 17 Illinois at 11 a.m. Sunday. Both matches will be held at the Stickney Tennis Center.
Scouting Purdue
The No. 58 Boilermakers bring a 7-9 record to Columbus and stand 2-3 in Big Ten play. Head coach Matt Iandolo’s squad is lead by Hala Sufi, who is 10-6 in the spring and has twice been named Big Ten Player of the Week this season. In doubles, the duo of Lara Burgarello and Alyssa Rodriguez top the Boilermakers with eight victories. Ohio State leads the all-time series with Purdue, 19-17, and has not played host to Purdue since the 2001 season, when the Buckeyes defeated the Boilermakers by a 5-2 tally.
Scouting Illinois
The No. 17 Fighting Illini (13-3, 4-1 Big Ten) are coached by Surjay Lama and lead in singles and doubles by Jennifer McGaffigan. In singles, McGaffigan is ranked No. 34 and has run up a record of 11-5 this spring. In doubles, No. 10 duo McGaffigan and Cynthya Goulet are 14-2 in dual action. Illinois leads the all-time series with Ohio State, 20-9. The Buckeyes’ last victory came in 2002, a 5-2 win in Columbus.
Last Time Out
Last weekend in Bloomington, Ind., the Buckeyes took three matches in singles, but the Hoosiers swept doubles competition, which would prove to be the deciding margin. Ohio State got victories from Erica Fisk (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) over Linda Tran, 6-4, 7-6, at No. 2, Emily DeCamilla (Jr., Sacramento, Calif./Maryland), who swept Laura McGaffigan, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 4 and Lindsey Adams (Sr., Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island), who needed three sets to defeat Karie Schlukebir, 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-4, at the No. 5 position. Home Again
Though the Buckeyes were able to muster only a 3-7 record on their 10-match road trip, they are 4-1 in Columbus this season and have won four in a row. Leading the Buckeyes at home is senior Lindsay Williams (Sr., Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Groves), who is a perfect 5-0 playing at No. 1 singles.
Buckeyes Double-up at Home
In five dual matches at home this season, Ohio State has not lost the doubles point while recording a combined mark of 13-2. That total includes a perfect 9-0 combined record for the Buckeyes in their last three matches. The duos of Erica Fisk and Jackie Leskovar and Lindsay Williams and Meaghan Colville (Sr., Toronto, Ontario/Western Michigan) are both undefeated this season in Columbus.
DeCamilla Sets Career High
With her victory at Indiana, Emily DeCamilla established a career high in dual singles victories with eight.
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 campaign and surpassed her career high for overall singles victories in a season with 15. Adams earned 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 13 wins this season and 75 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
Leading in doubles this season 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 16 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. 98 in the ITA National Rankings, released April 6. 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
After their match with the Illini, the Buckeyes hit the road again for their next two matches, traveling to face Wisconsin at 10 a.m. April 17 in Madison, Wisc., and No. 9 Northwestern at 11 a.m. April 18 in Evanston, Ill.
