Ohio State Women’s Tennis Opens Spring Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 19, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s tennis team opens the spring season Saturday when the Buckeyes host Cincinnati and Bowling Green. The first match, against the Bearcats, will be at 10 a.m., followed by the match against Bowling Green at 3 p.m. Both matches will be held at the Jesse Owens West Recreation Center.
They’re Back
Looking ahead to the 2006 season, Chuck Merzbacher, Ohio State women’s tennis head coach, is optimistic. He has several players returning and a quality freshman class.
The Buckeyes lost four seniors from the 2005 squad but added four outstanding freshmen and a transfer from Georgia Southern University. Merzbacher said one of the most positive elements of the upcoming season is that the winningest player from last year is returning.
Another positive for the upcoming season is the players will not have to perform in unfamiliar roles, which was a major concern last year.
“One problem last year was people jumping too high in the rotation. This year we will be back into a regular rotation,” Merzbacher said. “That should make the girls more comfortable and help them play well.”
The squad is a young one this season, with just one senior, four juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen.
Team Captain
Senior Emily Howard (Sr., Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) has been named team captain for the 2006 season, head coach Chuck Merzbacher announced last week.
Howard, a native of Akron, Ohio, is the lone senior on the squad and is in the best position to lead a young Buckeye team into the spring season.
“Emily is a fantastic leader,” Merzbacher said. “She has been an honor to coach these past three years and I am very proud of her as she leads this team into the 2006 spring dual season. Our younger players are very fortunate to have someone of Emily’s character to look up to.” Howard started off the 2005-06 season on the right foot, as she won four-consecutive matches in the back draw of the Kentucky Fall Classic, Sep. 30-Oct. 2, to win the consolation championship. In the second tournament of the year, the Wildcat Invitational, Oct. 7-9, Howard advanced to the consolation finals of the singles grey bracket.
In her Buckeye career, Howard, a communication major, is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, as well as a three-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete. Howard also was the winner of the Coach’s Award her freshman season (2002-03), which is awarded to the hardest worker on the team.
Early Leaders
Heading into the spring season, Buckeye freshman Angela DiPastina (Titusville, N.J./Hun School of Princeton) is leading the way in singles with 10 victories.
In doubles, DiPastina also leads the team in individual wins with nine, while Julie Blackmore (Fr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons), Ciara Finucane (Jr., Dublin, Ireland/Georgia Southern) and Sonia Ruzimovsky (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) are close behind with eight victories each. The doubles team leading the Buckeyes is the tandem of DiPastina and Ruzimovsky with seven wins and one loss.
Scouting Cincinnati
The Bearcats are coached by Kimberly Jones, who is in her third season at Cincinnati. Last year her squad finished 5-16 and 13th in Conference USA.
The Bearcats are led in singles by freshmen Carling Arundel and Jenny Rowen, as well as their most experienced player, senior Jill Klauck. Klauck has a career record of 61-39.
In individual doubles, Arundel and fellow freshman Andrea Phillips lead the way with four victories each. Arundel and Phillips also account for Cincinnati’s top doubles team with a 4-1 fall record.
Ohio State’s last match and win against Cincinnati came in the 2001-02 season when the Buckeyes shut out the Bearcats, 7-0. Ohio State is 12-0 all-time against the in-state rival.
Scouting Bowling Green
Penny Dean is the head coach of the Falcons and is in her 17th season at Bowling Green. Dean led her team to a 12-10 mark last year as they finished tied for fifth in the Mid American Conference.
The Falcons are led in singles by senior Heidi Romer, who has five wins while freshman Kelsey Jakupcin is right behind her with five victories.
In doubles, Jakupcin teamed up with sophomore Jenna Nussbaum to lead Bowling Green with four victories in the fall.
The 2001-02 season was the last time the teams met and the Buckeyes came away with the victory, 7-0.
Ohio State is 22-0 all-time when facing Bowling Green.
Merzbacher Milestones
Coach Chuck Merzbacher scored a pair of milestones in 2005. The Buckeyes’ 7-0 victory Jan. 22, 2005 over Cleveland State was his 250th career win. His squad’s 4-3 win April 17 over Michigan State gave him 123 as the leader of the Buckeyes. That ties him with his predecessor, LeeAnn Massucci, for the most in school history. Beginning his 10th season in Columbus, Merzbacher is 123-109. Massucci accumulated a record of 123-151 in her 11 seasons at Ohio State.
The Recruiting Trail
The Ohio State women’s tennis team signed top recruits Ally Mueller and Christina Keesey to NCAA National Letters of Intent to come to Ohio State, Buckeye head coach Chuck Merzbacher announced this off season. Mueller, who is from Roswell, Ga., and Keesey, a Northfield, Minn., native, will both begin playing for the Buckeyes in the fall of 2006.
In 2003-04, Mueller was named the team Most Valuable Player at Blessed Trinity High School in Roswell, Ga., where she played the No.1 position and led the team to the Georgia state championship.
Keesey has been playing in the No.1 spot for the Northfield Raiders since seventh grade. She has an overall record of 155-16 while at Northfield and is undefeated in Missota Conference play.
Buckeyes Add New Member to Coaching Staff
This past summer, Sadhaf Pervez was named assistant coach at Ohio State. Pervez played four seasons for the Buckeyes under Merzbacher from 2000-03. After graduation, she was an assistant coach with the University of Nebraska, where they had one of the most successful seasons in the history of their program. Prior to joining the Nebraska staff, Pervez coached the junior varsity boys’ tennis team at Upper Arlington High school during her senior season at Ohio State in 2003.
While at Ohio State, Pervez posted one of the best careers in school history. As a senior in 2003, Pervez was an All-Big Ten honoree and was named both the team’s Most Improved and Most Valuable Player. That same season she also was named the Midwest Senior Player of the Year by the International Tennis Association. Pervez finished her career third all-time in singles wins with 99 and tied with Kristy Dascoli for fifth all-time in doubles wins with 91. She led the team in doubles win percentage three consecutive seasons, 2001-03, and is 10th all-time in school history with a career doubles winning percentage of .659 (91-47). Pervez replaces Kristy Dascoli, who served as an assistant at Ohio State for the past two seasons. Dascoli left the program to pursue her Ph.D. in Family Therapy at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Fall Season Recap
The Buckeyes enjoyed a competitive fall season. The experience gained by the young squad is sure to help them in the future. The Buckeyes lost four seniors, all of which were letterwinners, from the 2005 squad, but added four outstanding freshmen and a transfer from Georgia Southern University. These five new Buckeyes, alongside the six returners from the squad last year, look to take advantage of the home schedule and make a run in the Big Ten and for a spot in the NCAA tournament.
This fall, Ohio State competed in five tournaments and earned Top 5 honors in two of those tournaments. At the first tournament of the year, the Kentucky Fall Invitational, Julie Voss (Fr., San Angelo, Texas/St. Stephen’s Academy) placed third in the C flight singles, while Kristin Messmer (Jr., Lutherville, Md./McDonogh) placed fourth in the B flight singles. Also, Olga Koutseridi (Fr., Barcelona, Spain/Schiller International) placed fifth in the D flight singles.
At the Big Green Invitational, Ruzimovsky took home third place in the A flight singles, while DiPastina won the A flight singles consolation bracket. On the doubles side, Ruzimovsky teamed up with DiPastina to win the championship in the doubles main draw.
Freshmen Are Fired Up
All six Buckeye freshmen earned their first career victory this past fall. All four true frshmen- Blackmore, DiPastina, Koutseridi, and Voss, got their first career win at the Kentucky Fall Invitational. Transfer Ciara Finucane tabbed her first Buckeye victory at the Wildcat Invitational in Evanston, Ill. Also getting her first win was red-shirt freshman Sara Kinning (Fr., Grand Blanc, Mich./Powers Catholic). Her first victory came at the Kentucky Fall Invitational.
Doing Well In-State
Ohio State was 3-0 last season against in-state opponents. The Buckeyes defeated Cleveland State, Youngstown State and Akron, all by a score of 7-0. Overall, the Buckeyes are 119-17 against schools from Ohio.
Up Next
Next weekend the Buckeyes travel to South Bend, Ind., to face the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The match will begin at 11 a.m. Jan. 28 at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
