Ohio State Announces Wildcard Selections for ITA National Indoor Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio Chuck Merzbacher, Ohio State women’s tennis head coach, announced the Buckeyes’ wildcard selections for the upcoming ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Tennis Championships taking place Nov. 1-4 at the Racquet Club of Columbus.
As the host school, Ohio State is allowed two automatic wildcard entries into the tournament. Representing the Buckeyes in singles competition is junior Angela DiPastina, who will also team with sophomore Christina Keesey for the doubles competition.
“I am pleased to announce Angela is our representative in singles,” Merzbacher said. “She has worked extremely hard this past summer on her game and she has continued that through the fall. There is no doubt she is looking forward to competing with the best players in the country.”
Through three tournaments thus far in the fall, DiPastina has put together an impressive 9-2 record while also taking the Flight B singles title at the Hokie Invitational. As a doubles tandem, Keesey and DiPastina have gone 5-2 on the fall campaign.
“Christina Keesey and Angela DiPastina will be our wildcard spot for the ITA National Indoors Doubles Tournament,” Merzbacher said. “These two played some great team doubles last year and it has carried over to this year but at a much higher level. They are certainly ready to compete with the top doubles teams nationally.”
Buckeyes Compete at the Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships
In a preview of the spring schedule, the Ohio State women’s tennis team turned in encouraging results at the Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships, hosted by the University of Michigan. The Buckeyes faced off against multiple Big Ten opponents, going a combined 5-3 against Big Ten opposition during the tournament.
Angela DiPastina advanced to the Round of 16 in the main draw, upsetting 15th-seeded Milica Veselinovic of Iowa in the Round of 32. DiPastina fell to third-seeded Cosmina Ciobanu of Notre Dame in the next match, 6-3, 6-4.
Freshman Cami Hubbs successfully navigated the qualifying bracket to earn a spot in the main draw, going 4-1 on the tournament. Fellow freshman standout Paloma Escobedo won her opening round match in the main draw before falling in the second round to eventual quarterfinalist Jacqueline Lee of Iowa, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Springboard to Success
Using the fall season to develop and improve as a team, the Buckeyes will turn their focus to the spring schedule and the fight for the Big Ten title. Here are highlights from fall action.
The Scarlet and Gray opened at the Baylor Invite with freshman Cami Hubbs going undefeated in Flight C singles to take home her first collegiate title. Sophomore Christina Keesey advanced to the finals of both the consolation Flight A singles and the Flight B Doubles, falling in both.
At the Hokie Invite, junior Angela DiPastina won the Flight B singles crown while teammate Julie Blackmore won the Flight C singles title and lost in the final of the Flight B doubles. Hubbs improved her record to 8-1 on the young season, while Keesey dropped a 6-4, 6-3 decision to Yevgeniya Stupak of East Tennessee State in the finals of the Flight A singles bracket.
Coming Soon
The spring schedule includes big non-conference dual-matches at Notre Dame and Virginia, and home matchups against South Florida and Oregon.
From there, Ohio State will enter Big Ten competition in search of its first Big Ten championship since the 1999-00 season and first NCAA tournament bid since 2003-04.
A New Home
The Ohio State University Indoor Tennis Center is the new indoor venue for the men’s and women’s tennis teams and is slated to open in November 2007. Located at 880 West Henderson Road in northwest Columbus, the 57,000 square foot center will have six courts covered with a Plexipave surface.
The indoor tennis center will accommodate approximately 400 spectator seats, plus standing room. In addition to 156 bleacher seats, the facility will feature 64 cabaret-style seats on court level at the north end and 96 individual seats in the south end. Additionally, 66 theatre-style seats will be available.
The site also will house the coaches’ offices, as well as locker rooms and team and recruiting rooms.
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