Women’s Tennis Returns to Big Ten Action with Road Games at Minnesota and Iowa – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 23, 2007
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The Ohio State women’s tennis team (11-4, 1-0 Big Ten) will play two Big Ten Conference matches this weekend. The Buckeyes will play at Minnesota (7-5, 0-1 Big Ten) at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis and at Iowa (5-6, 1-0 Big Ten) at noon ET Sunday at the Hawkeyes Tennis and Recreation Complex in Iowa City.
Last Time Out
The Buckeyes won two matches Monday. The squad upset then-No. 16 Wichita State, 4-3, and downed No. 11 (Division II) Florida Gulf Coast, 7-0, in Fort Myers, Fla.
Minnesota lost to LSU, 6-0, Wednesday. Iowa was defeated by Long Beach State, 4-3, March 15 and San Diego State, 4-3, March 13.
What a Win
The Buckeyes used the doubles point and three come-from-behind three-set singles wins to defeat then-No. 16 Wichita State, 4-3, Monday. It was Ohio State’s first victory over a team ranked in the Top 20 since downing No. 20 Illinois, 4-2, May 1, 2004, in the Big Ten championship. The Buckeyes also beat No. 16 William and Mary that season (W 4-3, Feb. 29, 2004).
Streakers
The Buckeyes enter the weekend on a six-match winning streak. It is the team’s longest since winning six matches in a row in the 2001-02 season. The team record for consecutive wins is nine, set in the 1999-00 campaign.
Keesey Honored
Ohio State freshman Christina Keesey was named the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Player of the Week, the conference announced Wednesday. Keesey posted two singles wins for the Buckeyes Monday, as the team downed No. 16 Wichita State (4-3) and Florida Gulf Coast (7-0) in Fort Myers, Fla.
Keesey, from Northfield, Minn., (Northfield High School) was 2-0 for the Buckeyes at No. 3 singles. Against No. 16-ranked Wichita State, Keesey clinched the Buckeyes’ upset victory, coming back from a set down to beat Lenore Lazaroiu, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5. The match was tied at 3-all when Keesey posted the win, leading the Buckeyes to their first win over a Top 16 opponent since downing No. 16-ranked William and Mary Feb. 29, 2004. Keesey closed out the day with a straight-set, 6-1, 6-1, victory over Krista Polulak of No. 11-ranked (Division II) Florida Gulf Coast.
Keesey, who is on a six-match winning streak, has a Buckeye-best 18 overall wins this season and is first with 11 dual-match victories.
Keesey is the first Buckeye to be honored by the league this season and the first since Lindsay Williams in February 2004.
Scouting Minnesota
No. 51-ranked Minnesota is 7-5 this season and 0-1 in the Big Ten Conference with a 5-2 loss at Iowa March 4.
Ashley Schellhas and Danielle Mousseau are tied for the Gopher lead with eight wins this spring. Schellhas is 7-4 at No. 1 singles in dual matches.
Tyler Thomson, a 1993 graduate of Montana, is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Gophers.
A Gopher Connection
Ohio state head coach Chuck Merzbacher is a 1987 graduate of Minnesota. He was a three-time All-Big Ten selection while playing for the Gophers and played on two conference championship teams. He ended his career as the Gophers’ all-time wins leader (137).
Buckeyes vs. Gophers
Ohio State is 11-24 against Minnesota all-time. Under head coach Chuck Merzbacher, the Buckeyes are 6-5 vs. the Gophers, including a 6-4 record in the regular season.
The Buckeyes carry a three-match winning streak vs. the Gophers into the matchup Friday. Ohio State posted a 5-2 win in Columbus last season (March 25, 2006) and won in Minneapolis March 27, 2005 in the last road contest.
Scouting Iowa
No. 55 Iowa is 5-6 on the year and 1-0 in Big Ten play with a victory over Minnesota (5-2). The Hawkeyes will host Indiana Friday before the match with the Buckeyes Sunday.
Jacqueline Lee is 5-6 at No. 1 singles for Iowa this spring. Milica Veselinovic has a team-best 19 overall wins and is 8-1 at No. 2 singles in dual matches.
Daryl Greenan, a 1997 graduate of Valdosta State, is in his third season as the head coach at Iowa and in his sixth year as a collegiate head coach.
Buckeyes vs. Hawkeyes
Ohio State is 13-19 all-time vs. Iowa. Under head coach Chuck Merzbacher, the Buckeyes have a 6-6 ledger vs. the Hawkeyes (4-6 regular season). Ohio State is looking to stop a two-match losing streak to Iowa.
The Buckeyes lost to Iowa in Columbus last season, 4-3, March 26, 2006. In the last meeting in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes posted a 6-1 win March 25, 2005.
Ahead of the Pack
Leading the Buckeyes in overall singles wins so far this season is freshman Christina Keesey, with 18. Classmate Ally Mueller is second with 16, followed by sophomore Julie Voss with 15.
In the dual season, Keesey has a team-best 11 wins, followed by Mueller with 10 and Voss with nine.
In doubles, four Buckeyes have posted a team-high 15 wins – sophomore Julie Blackmore and seniors Ciara Finucane, Kristin Messmer and Sonia Ruzimovsky.
In the Conference
The Buckeyes won their Big Ten opener, shutting out Wisconsin, 7-0, to stop a three-game losing streak against the Badgers.
Another Blank
Seven of the Buckeyes’ 11 wins this season have been 7-0 shutouts. The squad opened the year with three-consecutive whitewashes (vs. Bowling Green, vs. Cincinnati, at West Virginia) and blanked Miami (Ohio) Feb. 11, Eastern Kentucky Feb. 25, Wisconsin March 4 and Florida Gulf Coast Monday. It is the most shutouts in a season since the Buckeyes had seven 7-0 wins in 2001-02. The squad last year had five shutouts in 26 matches. The team record for shutouts in a season is 11, set in 1984 and 1986.
A Key
The Buckeyes have won the doubles point in all 11 of their wins this season and in 12 of their 15 matches. The team won the doubles point vs. Marshall Feb. 17, but lost the match.
Three for Three
The Buckeyes won three three-set matches in the victory over Wichita State Monday, as Ally Mueller, Christina Keesey and Caitlin O’Keefe each came from a set down to win.
Happy 50th
Against Cincinnati Jan. 27, senior Sonia Ruzimovsky posted the 50th singles win of her Buckeye career, as she downed Valeriya Dandik in straight sets (6-1, 6-0). Ruzimovsky is second among current Buckeyes with 55 career wins, behind senior Kristin Messmer’s 61 victories.
Ruzimovsky posted her 50th career doubles victory against Louisville Feb. 25. She has a team career-best 56 doubles wins.
Messmer recorded her 50th career doubles win against Wisconsin March 4 and is 52-40 in doubles in her career.
The Rooks make an Impact
The two Buckeye freshmen, Ally Mueller and Christina Keesey, both have played in all 15 matches for the Buckeyes so far this spring. Keesey is 11-4 in singles and 4-1 in doubles. Mueller is 10-4 in singles and 6-4 in doubles in the dual season.
Among the Best
Chuck Merzbacher, Ohio State head coach, has the eighth-ranked recruiting class for 2007, according to rankings compiled by tennisrecruiting.net. The duo of Paloma Escobedo and Cameron Hubbs, who signed NCAA National Letters of Intent in November, will join the Buckeye roster in the fall of 2007.
A panel of junior tennis experts, including journalists, tournament directors, referees and ranking chairmen from across the country, voted on the recruiting classes. Each panelist submitted his/her list of the Top 25 recruiting classes. Schools received 25 points for each first-place vote, 24 points for each second-place vote, down to 1 point for each 25th-place vote.
Escobedo, a native of Houston, Texas, has been ranked as high as 21st nationally among recruits for 2007 and currently is ranked 29th. She is ranked fourth among the gulf states and third in the state of Texas. Escobedo was a member of the Texas Fed Cup team who went undefeated in August at the 2006 UTSA Girl’s 18 Fed Cup Championships and posted a 5-2 record in the same month at the 2006 Girls 18 and Under Super Nationals in San Jose, Calif.
Hubbs, from Omaha, Neb., has been ranked as high as No. 60 in 2007 recruiting lists. She currently is ranked second in the plains states and is first in Nebraska. She is a three-time state champion at Omaha Westside High School. Hubbs is a standout in doubles and has been ranked as high as seventh nationally.
Up Next
The Buckeyes remain on the road for Big Ten play, as they travel to Michigan State March 30. The teams will meet at 3 p.m. Ohio State then closes out the weekend with a home match vs. Syracuse at 11 a.m. April 1.
