Women’s Tennis Upsets No. 16 Wichita State, 4-3 – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 19, 2007
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s tennis team upset No. 16 Wichita State, 4-3, Monday in a neutral-site match in Fort Myers, Fla. The Buckeyes won the doubles point, with victories at the Nos. 2 and 3 spots, to open the match. The teams then split the singles matches, with the Buckeyes winning all three of their matches in three sets after dropping the first set. Junior Caitlin O’Keefe and freshman Ally Mueller won at Nos. 5 and 2, respectively, before freshman Christina Keesey won the deciding match at the No. 3 position.
The Buckeyes, who are on a five-match winning streak, improve to 10-4 this season (1-0 Big Ten). The loss was the first for the Shockers this season, as they fall to 12-1.
The Buckeyes won the first doubles match off the court, as Sonia Ruzimovsky (Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) and Caitlin O’Keefe (Jr., Troy, Mich./Troy) downed Stephanie Dalmacio and Anna Egorova, 8-3, at No. 2. Wichita State tied the match with an 8-6 win by Madina Rakhim and Florentina Hanisch at the No. 1 positoin over Buckeyes Julie Blackmore (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) and Ally Mueller (Fr., Roswell, Ga./New Braunfels (Texas). The doubles point came down to the No. 3 spot, where Buckeye seniors Kristin Messmer (Lutherville, Md./McDonogh) and Ciara Finucane (Dublin, Ireland/Georgia Southern) won in a tiebreaker over Lenore Lazaroiu and Torrie Browning, 9-8 (3).
Wichita State won the first two singles matches off the court to take a 2-1 lead. At No. 1 Rakhim defeated Blackmore, 6-1, 6-3 and at No. 6 Browning beat Angela DiPastina (So., Titusville, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton), 6-4, 6-2. Mueller won at No. 2 over Hanisch, coming back from a set down to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, and tying the match at 2-all. O’Keefe put the Buckeyes ahead with a three-set win over Egorova (2-6, 6-3, 6-3), at No. 5. The match was again tied after Dalmacio beat Ruzimovsky in three sets at No. 4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.
The match came down to the No. 3 singles match between Keesey and Lazariou. After dropping the first set, 7-5, Keesey (Fr., Northfield, Minn./Northfield) came back to win the next two sets, 6-3, 7-5, to give the Buckeyes the one-point win.
Wichita State vs Ohio State Mar 19, 2007 at Fort Myers, Fla.
Ohio State 4, #16 Wichita State 3
Singles competition 1. Madina Rakhim (WSU) def. Julie Blackmore (OSU) 6-1, 6-3 2. Ally Mueller (OSU) def. Florentina Hanisch (WSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 3. Christina Keesey (OSU) def. Lenore Lazaroiu (WSU) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 4. Stephanie Dalmacio (WSU) def. Sonia Ruzimovsky (OSU) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 5. Caitlin O’Keefe (OSU) def. Anna Egorova (WSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 6. Torrie Browning (WSU) def. Angela DiPastina (OSU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition 1. Madina Rakhim/Florentina Hanisch (WSU) def. Julie Blackmore/Ally Mueller (OSU) 8-6 2. Sonia Ruzimovsky/Caitlin O’Keefe (OSU) def. Stephanie Dalmacio/Anna Egorova (WSU) 8-3 3. Ciara Finucane/Kristin Messmer (OSU) def. Lenore Lazaroiu/Torrie Browning (WSU) 9-8 (7-3)
Match Notes: Wichita State 12-1; National ranking #16 Ohio State 10-4 (1-0 Big Ten) Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,6,2,5,4,3)
