Women’s Tennis Set to Open Big Ten Play – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 22, 2006
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COLUMBUS, Ohio– The No. 66 Ohio State women’s tennis team (8-5; 0-0 Big Ten) returns home to open Big Ten play this weekend as the Buckeyes host Minnesota Saturday and Iowa Sunday. Both matches will be held at 11 a.m. at the Jesse Owens West Recreation Center in Columbus.
A Look at Minnesota
Minnesota is led by head coach Tyler Thomson. Thomson led the Gophers to a 6-15 overall record last season. Minnesota finished 11th in the Big Ten last year with a 1-9 conference mark.
Minnesota is led on the court by Danielle Mousseau and Nischela Reddy, who both are 7-6 in singles matches this spring. The leading doubles team for the Gophers is the duo of Reddy and Ida Malmberg at 10-3.
The Buckeyes are 10-24 all-time against Minnesota with the meeting last year resulting in a 4-3 Buckeye win in Minneapolis March 27, 2005.
The last meeting in Columbus resulted in a 5-2 Buckeye win April 25, 2004.
Iowa at A Glance
The Hawkeyes are led by Daryl Greenan, who is in his second year as head coach at Iowa. The Hawkeyes finished last year with a 14-10 overall record while finishing fourth in the Big Ten at 8-4 in the conference.
On the court for Iowa, Jacqueline Lee is leading in singles with a 10-1 mark. Iowa also has Meg Racette, who is ranked No. 33 in singles in the latest Fila Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. On the doubles side, Lee and Racette are 8-2 to lead the Hawkeyes.
Ohio State is 13-18 all-time when facing Iowa. Last year, the Hawkeyes took the victory in Iowa City by a score of 6-1, March 25, 2005. The last meeting in Columbus resulted in a 5-2 Ohio State victory April 23, 2004.
Last Time Out
The Buckeyes split a pair of weekend matches. Ohio State defeated No. 71 Washington State, 4-2, then dropped its match with No. 42 Nebraska, 4-0, in the Newport Beach Tournament held March 19 at the Balboa Bay Tennis Club in Newport Beach, Calif.
In their first round match with Washington State, the Buckeyes earned the doubles point. At No. 1, the tandem of Caitlin O’Keefe (So., Troy, Mich./Troy) and Julie Blackmore (Fr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) defeated Maria Ring and Amy Toth, 9-8 (6). At No. 3, Ciara Finucane (Jr., Dublin, Ireland/Georgia Southern) and Kristin Messmer (Jr., Lutherville, Md./McDonogh) dropped Aleksandra Stefanova and Aleksandra Cekic, 8-3. At No. 2, Sonia Ruzimovsky (Jr., Brooklyn N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) and Angela DiPastina (Fr., Titusville, N.J.) did not finish their match with Ekaterina Burduli and Marjolein van de Ven because the Buckeyes already had clinched the doubles point.
The Buckeyes won three singles matches to clinch the victory over the Cougars. At No. 1, O’Keefe was defeated by Burduli, 6-4, 6-1. At No. 2, Ruzimovsky downed Toth by a score of 6-1, 6-3. Blackmore won a close match at the No. 3 spot in three sets over Cekic, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. At No. 4, Finucane was defeated by van de Ven, 6-3, 6-3. At No. 6, DiPastina clinched the victory over Ring in three sets, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-4. Messmer did not finish her match with Stefanova because the match already was decided.
In the second-round match against the Cornhuskers, the Buckeyes dropped the doubles point to Nebraska, losing two of three matches. At No. 1, O’Keefe and Blackmore were defeated by Imke Reimers and Ewilina Skaza, 8-6. At No. 2, Kim Hartmann and Milena Schulze-Gartner defeated Ruzimovsky and DiPastina by the score of 8-2. At No. 3, Finucane and Messmer defeated Vanessa Heute and Pamela Castillejos, 8-6.
The Buckeyes dropped the first three singles matches which sealed the win for Nebraska. The first match to finish was the No. 4 spot where Skaza defeated Finucane, 6-1, 6-2. Then, at No. 6, DiPastina was downed by Heute, 6-2, 6-1. The clinching match was at the No. 2 spot where Ruzimovsky fell to Reimers, 6-3, 6-1. The No. 1 spot, O’Keefe vs. Hartmann, the No. 3 spot, Blackmore vs. Schulze-Gartner, and the No. 5 spot, Messmer vs. Castillejos, all did not finish.
Big Ten Openers
Over the last seven seasons, Ohio State is 6-1 when opening Big Ten play.
The Buckeyes lost last season to Iowa, 6-1, but have won every other Big Ten opener dating back to the 1998-99 campaign. Three of those wins have come over Penn State, while Ohio State has won over Minnesota twice and once over Michigan.
Leaders Going Into Big Ten Play
After 13 spring matches, junior Kristin Messmer and freshman Angela DiPastina are tied for the lead in singles with 15 overall victories each, including the fall.
In doubles, Sonia Ruzimovsky leads the way with 16 overall individual wins, while Angela DiPastina is right behind Ruzimovsky with 15 wins. The doubles team that leads the way is DiPastina and Ruzimovsky, who now are 13-5 on the season.
Spring Leaders
In the spring, junior Kristin Messmer is leading the Buckeyes in singles with a career-high 10 dual-match victories. Fellow juniors Ciara Finucane and Sonia Ruzimovsky are right behind Messmer with eight victories each.
Angela DiPastina and Sonia Ruzimovsky are the leading doubles team at 6-4 in the spring.
Facing Ranked Opponents
Of the remaining 12 regular-season matches for the Buckeyes, they will face six teams currently ranked in the Fila Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Those teams include No. 4 Northwestern, No. 27 Michigan, No. 33 Purdue, No. 35 Indiana, No. 39 Iowa and No. 59 Illinois.
Doubles Point is Deciding Factor
The Buckeyes have won the doubles point in all eight of their spring dual victories while dropping the doubles point in all five of their losses.
Upperclassmen Leading the Way
This spring, the three Buckeye juniors- Ciara Finucane, Kristin Messmer and Sonia Ruzimovsky- are a combined 26-11 in singles while the freshmen and sophomores- Angela DiPastina, Julie Blackmore, Caitlin O’Keefe, Nidhi Shah and Julie Voss are a combined 21-16.
No. 5 Spot Dominating
This spring, the Buckeyes are 10-1 at the No. 5 spot, including a game-winning victory for junior Kristin Messmer over Natalie Laszkowski of Louisville in a 4-3 defeat of the Cardinals Feb. 25. No.s 2 and 6 are a close second as the Buckeyes are 9-4 at each spot.
Up Next
The Buckeyes will resume Big Ten play when they travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to face the Purdue Boilermakers at 1 p.m. April 1. The match will be held at the Lafayette Sports Center in Lafayette, Ind.
