Buckeyes Set to Take on Three Foes on the Road – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 1, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s tennis team (4-6, 0-0 Big Ten) faces three road tests. The Buckeyes take on Missouri at noon E.S.T. Saturday and Louisville at 9 a.m. Sunday in Columbia, Mo., then face Saint Louis University at 6 p.m. Sunday in St. Louis, Mo.
Scouting Missouri
The No. 53-ranked Tigers (7-2, 2-1 Big 12) are coached by eighth-year leader Blake Starkey and led in singles by No. 63-ranked Katka Sevcikova. She is 5-4 at the No. 1 position this spring while also teaming with Carolyn Kramer at the No. 1 doubles spot. The duo is 4-1 this spring.
Ohio State is 2-0 all-time against the Tigers, including the last meeting, a 7-0 win at Missouri in 1978.
Scouting Louisville
The No. 75 Cardinals (12-4, 1-0 Conference USA) are coached by Greg Davis. Lesley Stewart holds down the No. 1 singles spot and combines with Suzanna Gracanin in doubles.
The Buckeyes are 4-0 all-time against Louisville, including a 7-2 win at Louisville in 1996.
Scouting Saint Louis
The Billikens (6-7, 0-3 Conference USA) are led by fourth-year coach Jonathen Zynch. The team has already exceeded its win total of two last season.
Katerina Lozanova plays No. 1 singles for the Billikens and has earned nine wins.
Tara Grant and Lozanova play No. 1 doubles and are 5-6 this season.
The Buckeyes and Billikens never have met previously.
Last Time Out
Ohio State posted a 1-2 record last weekend, falling at No. 17 Tennessee Friday and at home to No. 7 Kentucky Sunday before topping Akron, also Sunday.
Against Akron, Ohio State took all six singles spots and all three doubles matches.
In doubles, Buckeyes Lindsey Adams (Sr., Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) and Sonia Ruzimovsky (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) beat Courtney Brenkus and Mindy Price, 8-0, at No. 1. At No. 2, Ohio State duo Emily Howard (Jr., Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) and Meredith Vincent (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Va. Tech) beat Laura Hemlepp and Stephanie Miles, 8-0. At No. 3, Buckeyes Caitlin O’Keefe (Fr., Troy, Mich./Troy) and Kristin Messmer (Soph., Lutherville, Md./McDonogh) picked up an 8-2 win over Amy Sherlock and Vero Duchesne.
In singles, three Buckeyes earned straight-set, 6-0, 6-0 victories. Emily DeCamilla (Sr., Sacramento, Calif./Maryland) downed Brenkus at No. 1, Messmer stopped Price at No. 3 and O’Keefe beat Hemlepp at No. 5.
Also winning for Ohio State were Anna Volberg, Lindsay Bryan (Sr., New Orleans, La./Ursuline Academy), and Silvia Prajescu (Fr., Dollard-Des-Orneaux, Quebec/Des-Sources).
Ruzimovsky picked up the Buckeyes lone victory against Kentucky, at the No. 4 spot.
Ruzimovsky’s Streak Snapped
Sonia Ruzimovsky suffered her first defeat of the season in the Buckeyes’ 7-0 loss to Tennessee last Friday. She leads the Buckeyes in dual victories this spring, with seven, and overall, with 17.
Her six-match win streak was also snapped.
Dominating The Buckeye State
Following Ohio State’s 7-0 victory over Akron last Sunday, a Chuck Merzbacher-coached Buckeye squad never has lost to a team from the state of Ohio. Since Merzbacher’s arrival in 1996-97, his teams are 18-0 against in-state competition, including a pair of 7-0 victories this season, against Cleveland State and Youngstown State.
Back On The Road
Ohio State heads back on the road with an 0-1 record after dropping its road-opener last weekend at Tennessee. The Buckeyes were 7-11 away from home last season, including three wins in the Big Ten championship and one in the NCAA championship first round.
Adams Paces Doubles
Senior Lindsey Adams continues to be Ohio State’s individual leader in doubles victories with 11. She is trailed by two more Buckeyes in double-figures, Caitlin O’Keefe and Meredith Vincent, both with 10.
Kristin Messmer and Sonia Ruzimovsky are the top Buckeye duo, with an overall record of 5-2.
Winning Trend
Ohio State’s best production this season has come from the bottom half of the singles lineup. While the Nos. 1-3 positions are 11-19 through seven dual matches, the Buckeyes playing at Nos. 4-6 have compiled a record of 18-12.
Doubles A Marker For Success
Thus far this season Ohio State is 4-0 when winning the doubles point and 0-6 when failing to do so.
Merzbacher Reaches 250 Wins
Ohio State’s win over Cleveland State marked a milestone for head coach Chuck Merzbacher.
The 7-0 victory was Merzbacher’s 250th in his now 16-plus years as a college head coach.
Since beginning his career at 1989-90 at Northern Illinois, Merzbacher is 253-159.
Home Cooking
With 14 home matches this season, Ohio State will hope to continue its recent dominance in Columbus, where the team has won at a .750 percentage (12-4) during the last two seasons and is 4-5 this season.
In only nine home matches a year ago, the Buckeyes posted a 7-2 record, with both losses coming at the hands of teams ranked in the Top 20.
Freshmen Get It Going
A trio of Ohio State freshmen earned their first collegiate singles wins during the fall season.
Caitlin O’Keefe earned a three-set victory over Emily Vest of Middle Tennessee State, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, for her first win Sept. 17 in Knoxville, Tenn., in the first round of the University of Tennessee/St. Mary’s Fall Classic.
The following weekend at the Kentucky Fall Classic in Lexington, Ky., Silvia Prajescu beat Alex de Guzman of William and Mary, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, for her first victory.
On Oct. 10 at the Eck Classic in South Bend, Ind., it was Nidhi Shah’s (Fr., Mumbai, India/Mithibai College) turn to break into the win column, topping Virginia’s Dora Bechliwanis in an eight-game pro set, 8-6.
Recruiting News
The Buckeyes have signed two student-athletes, Julie Blackmore, a senior at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Julie Voss, a senior from San Angelo, Texas, who attends St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, to NCAA National Letters of Intent to attend Ohio State and join the Buckeyes tennis team beginning in Fall 2005.
Blackmore is ranked No. 47 in the nation and No. 11 in Florida in the Girls’ Under-18 USTA rankings. She is a three-time state champion in singles and doubles in Division 2A and reached the Round of 16 in singles and the quarterfinals in doubles at the National Clay Courts meet in Memphis, Tenn., earlier this year. Blackmore, whose father, Bob, is an Ohio State alumnus, also is on the honor roll.
Voss, who plays for St. Stephen’s Tennis Academy, has been ranked in the Top 10 in Texas since age 10 and is ranked No. 9 in the state in the Girls’ Under-18 age group. She has been ranked as high as No. 14 nationally and recently advanced to the round of 16 of the International Tennis Federation tournament in El Paso, Texas. Voss also is a top student and a talented musician.
Adams, O’Keefe, Ruzimovsky Succeed At ITA Midwest Regional
Three Buckeyes stood out Oct. 21-23 at the ITA Midwest Regional tournament in Minneapolis, Minn.
In singles, Sonia Ruzimovsky won three matches, over Mallory Stemle of IUPUI (6-1, 6-1), Pavlina Akritas of Illinois (6-2, 6-2) and Reedhina Parekh of Western Michigan (6-2, 5-7, 6-4), to qualify for the 64-player main draw.
In doubles, senior Lindsey Adams and freshman Caitlin O’Keefe teamed up to advance to the Round of 16 with victories over Minnesota’s Jane Anderson and Nischela Reddy, 8-3, in round one before beating Michelle Cunningham and Mallory Stemle of IUPU by an 8-4 margin in round two. O’Keefe and Adams were knocked out of the tournament in the quarterfinals after dropping a close 9-7 decision to Lindsay Martin and Katie McGaffigan of Wisconsin.
Messmer and Ruzimovsky Lead Way at Eck Classic
Sonia Ruzimovsky led the Buckeyes last weekend at the Eck Classic in South Bend, Ind., by winning seven total matches. Sunday, Ruzimovsky and Kristin Messmer combined to beat Virginia’s Lauren Brech and Rachel Del Priore, 8-2, to close out a perfect 4-0 doubles weekend that also included wins over Notre Dame’s Liz Donohoe and Bailey Louderback, 8-1, Michigan State’s Pascale Schnitzer and Karen Gustafson, 8-2, and Kansas’ Luiza Loureiro and Stephanie Smith, 8-3.
In singles, Ruzimovsky beat Loureiro in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0, Friday, Schnitzer in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, Saturday and Bruch,2-6, 7-6, 1-0(3), on Sunday.
Kentucky Fall Tournament Recap
The Buckeyes faced stiff competition Oct. 1-3 at the Kentucky Fall Classic in Lexington, Ky. Competing on the Wildcats’ home courts, Ohio State was led by the senior tandem of Lindsay Bryan and Meredith Vincent, who claimed the title in the green flight. In the flight championship match, Bryan and Vincent (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Virginia Tech) beat host Kentucky’s Foster and Sober, 9-7. The Buckeye duo reached the final with a pair of 8-6 victories over Marshall and White of Louisville and Yan and de Guzman of William and Mary.
Silvia Prajescu and Kristin Messmer led the Buckeyes in singles, both posting three victories against just one defeat.
Youngsters Lead Singles at Tennessee
Competing for the first time since losing four seniors from the 2003-04 squad to graduation, the Buckeyes were led by a pair of underclassmen who both earned a pair of victories at the University of Tennessee/St. Mary’s Fall Classic Sept. 17-19 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Sophomore Sonia Ruzimovsky and freshman Caitlin O’Keefe earned third place finishes with Day Three victories in their flights. Competing in Flight Six, Ruzimovsky swept Bonnie Baird of Furman, 7-6, 6-1, for her second victory of the weekend while O’Keefe earned her second win by topping fellow-Buckeye Lindsay Bryan, 6-5, 6-4, in Flight Three. Ruzimovsky also dispatched Alisha Talbot of Wake Forest and O’Keefe beat Emily Vest of Middle Tennessee State in first round action.
Returnees See Doubles Success
In contrast to singles action at Tennessee, Ohio State’s doubles play was dominated by upperclassmen. The senior doubles team of Emily DeCamilla and Lindsey Adams picked up two wins, a number matched by another upperclassmen duo, Emily Howard and Meredith Vincent.
DeCamilla and Adams beat Marti Morris and Mary Neill Hagood of Furman, 9-7, on Day Two to earn fifth place in Flight One. They also topped Barbara Orlay and Julia Roach of North Carolina State previously.
Vincent and Howard defeated Emily Vest and Claudia Szabo of Middle Tennessee State, 8-4, in Round One of Flight Three and teammates Silvia Prajescu and Lindsay Bryan in a third place match.
Next Up
The Buckeyes return home for their next match, against Texas Christian at 10 a.m. March 12th at the Jesse Owens West Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio.
