Women’s Tennis Hits Road for Set of Weekend Matches – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 29, 2006
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COLUMBUS, Ohio– The Ohio State women’s tennis team (9-6; 1-1 Big Ten) hits the road this weekend as the Buckeyes travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to face the Purdue Boilermakers. The match will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Varsity Tennis Courts in West Lafayette, Ind.
Ohio State then travels to Champaign, Ill., to square off against the Illinois Fighting Illini at noon Sunday. This match originally was scheduled for 11 a.m. The match will be held at the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign.
A Look at Purdue
Purdue is led by head coach Mat Iandolo. Iandolo led the Boilermakers to a 10-13 overall record last season. Purdue finished tied for fifth in the Big Ten last year with a 7-5 conference mark.
Purdue is currently 7-5 on the year and ranked No. 39 in the most recent Fila Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Purdue is led on the court by Randi Schuler, who is 10-2 in singles matches this spring. Schuler is currently ranked No. 60 in singles in the ITA rankings. The leading doubles team for the Boilermakers is the duo of Schuler and Brooke Beier at 10-2.
The Buckeyes are 20-18 all-time against Purdue with the meeting last year resulting in a 6-1 Boilermaker win in Columbus April 3, 2005.
The last meeting in West Lafayette resulted in a 4-3 Purdue win April 5, 2003.
Illinois at A Glance
The Fighting Illini are led by Sujay Lama, who led Illinois to a 12-11 overall record while finishing tied for fifth in the Big Ten at 6-5 in the conference last season.
Illinois is currently 5-9 and ranked No. 70. The Fighting Illini is led by Emily Wang, who is ranked No. 37 in singles.
Ohio State is 10-22 all-time when facing Illinois. Last year, the Fighting Illini took the victory in Columbus by a score of 5-2, April 2, 2005.
The last meeting in Champaign resulted in a 6-1 Illinois victory April 6, 2003.
Last Time Out
The Buckeyes split a pair of weekend matches to open Big Ten play. Ohio State defeated Minnesota, 5-2, then dropped its match with No. 39 Iowa, 4-3.
In their match with Minnesota, the Buckeyes took a 1-0 lead by sweeping the three doubles matches to earn the doubles point. The duo of Ciara Finucane (Jr., Dublin, Ireland/Georgia Southern) and Kristin Messmer (Jr., Lutherville, Md./McDonogh) downed Marina Bugaenco and Shelby Rohrer at No. 3, 8-2, to open the match. At No. 2 Sonia Ruzimovsky (Jr., Brooklyn N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) and Angela DiPastina (Fr., Titusville, N.J.) beat Mariana Spilca and Danielle Mousseau, 8-5, to clinch the doubles point. At No. 1, Caitlin O’Keefe (So., Troy, Mich./Troy) and Julie Blackmore (Fr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) defeated Nischela Reddy and Ida Malmberg, 8-5.
After Buckeye freshman Julie Voss (San Angelo, Texas/St. Stephen’s Academy) put the Buckeyes ahead, 2-0, with a 6-0, 6-0, victory over Jenna Tellefsen at the No. 6 spot, the Gophers posted two-consecutive wins to tie the match at 2. O’Keefe lost to Reddy at No. 1 (6-2, 6-2), while Ruzimovsky was defeated by Malmberg at No. 2 (7-5, 6-2). Blackmore put the Buckeyes back on top with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Spilca at the No. 3 spot. Messmer then clinched the win with a victory over Bugaenco, 6-0, 6-1, and Finucane closed out the match with a close win over Mousseau, 7-5, 7-6 (4).
In their match against Iowa, the Hawkeyes swept the doubles matches, with two tiebreaker wins, to earn the doubles point. At No. 2, Sonia Ruzimovsky (Jr., Brooklyn N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) and Angela DiPastina (Fr., Titusville, N.J.) were defeated by Hawkeyes Hillary Mintz and Kayla Berry, 8-3. The Ohio State tandem of O’Keefe (So., Troy, Mich./Troy) and Julie Blackmore (Fr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) then lost at No. 1 to Meg Racette and Jacqueline Lee, 9-8 (2), and Buckeyes Ciara Finucane (Jr., Dublin, Ireland/Georgia Southern) and Kristin Messmer (Jr., Lutherville, Md./McDonogh) were downed by Mili Veselinovic and Krissy Dowlin, 9-8 (4) at the third spot.
Buckeye Messmer opened singles play with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Berry at the No. 5 position, followed by Finucane’s loss to IU’s Lee at No. 4, 6-4, 6-1. DiPastina tied the match at 2-all with a win over Merel Beelen, 7-6, 6-3. The Hawkeyes then won the next two matches off the court to clinch the match victory. At No. 1, Iowa’s No. 33-ranked Racette downed O’Keefe, 6-1, 6-0, while at No. 3 Veselinovic beat Blackmore, 6-4, 6-1. Ohio State’s Ruzimovsky won the final match of the day at No. 2, as she defeated Mintz in a third-set tiebreaker, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5).
Leaders At the Mid-Season Point
After 15 spring matches, junior Kristin Messmer leads the Buckeyes in singles with 17 overall victories, including the fall. Freshman Angela DiPastina is only one win off the lead with 16 overall victories.
In doubles, Sonia Ruzimovsky leads the way with 17 overall individual victories, while Angela DiPastina is right behind Ruzimovsky with 16 wins. The doubles team that leads the way is DiPastina and Ruzimovsky, who now are 16-6 on the season.
Spring Leaders
In the spring, junior Kristin Messmer is leading the Buckeyes in singles with a career-high 12 dual-match victories. Fellow juniors Ciara Finucane and Sonia Ruzimovsky are right behind Messmer with nine victories each.
Angela DiPastina and Sonia Ruzimovsky are the leading doubles team at 7-5 in the spring.
Facing Ranked Opponents
Of the remaining 10 regular-season matches for the Buckeyes, they will face five teams currently ranked in the Fila Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Those teams include No. 6 Northwestern, No. 26 Indiana, No. 32 Michigan, No. 39 Purdue, and No. 70 Illinois.
Two Buckeyes Seek Milestone Victories
This weekend, two Buckeyes- junior Kristin Messmer and sophomore Caitlin O’Keefe- look to achieve milestone career wins. Messmer looks for her 50th career singles victory, while O’Keefe has her sights set on her 25th career singles win.
Bottom of Lineup Leading the Way
The bottom three spots of the Buckeye lineup are a combined 31-12 in singles, while No.s 1-3 are a combined 23-20.
No. 5 Spot Dominating
This spring, the Buckeyes are 12-1 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. The No. 6 spot is a close second as the Buckeyes are 11-4 at the bottom of the lineup.
Up Next
The Buckeyes return home April 5 when they host the Xavier Musketeers at 3 p.m. and the Ohio Northern Polar Bears at 7:30 p.m. Both matches will be held at the Jesse Owens West Rercreation Center in Columbus.
The Buckeyes then return home for two matches on April 5. Ohio State hosts Xavier at 3 p.m. and Ohio Northern at 7:30 p.m.
Weather permitting, all future matches will be held outdoors at the Stickney Tennis Center in Columbus.
