Ohio State Women’s Tennis Travels to Michigan State Friday, Returns Home to Face Syracuse Sunday – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 28, 2007
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Columbus, Ohio – The No. 46-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team (12-5, 2-1 Big Ten) will play two matches this weekend. The team will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to take on Big Ten Conference foe Michigan State (11-4, 1-1 Big Ten) at 3 p.m. Friday.
The team then returns home for a non-conference match with Syracuse (5-7, 1-1 Big East) at 11 a.m. Sunday. The home match is scheduled outdoors for the Stickney Tennis Center. In the case of inclement weather, it will be moved indoors to Wedgewood Country Club in Powell, Ohio.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Buckeyes entered the Fila ITA Rankings March 27 at No. 46 after two wins over ranked teams last week. Ohio State downed then-No. 16 Wichita State and then-No. 51 Minnesota each by 4-3 scores.
This is the first time Ohio State is ranked since holding down the No. 73 spot April 11, 2006. It is the highest ranking since the 2004 squad ended the year ranked 41st.
LAST TIME OUT
The Buckeyes went 1-1 in Big Ten play last weekend. Ohio State posted a 4-3 win at Minnesota last Friday before suffering a 7-0 loss at Iowa last Sunday.
Michigan State is coming off a 5-2 win at Illinois last Sunday. The Spartans fell at Purdue, 7-0, last Saturday.
Syracuse defeated Missouri, 5-2, last Saturday at home. It was the squad’s first match since winning at Brown March 4.
WHAT A WAY TO WIN
Ohio State had two 4-3 victories over ranked teams last week, downing then-No. 16 Wichita State March 19 in Fort Myers, Fla., and then-No. 51 Minnesota March 23 in Minneapolis. In both matches, a Buckeye won a three-set match to clinch the victory. The Buckeyes used the doubles point and three come-from-behind three-set singles wins to defeat Wichita State, 4-3. Against the Shockers, freshman Christina Keesey won at No. 3 singles to lift the Buckeyes to the win.
Against Minnesota, the Buckeyes won four singles matches to come from behind and win after dropping the doubles point. Against the Gophers, sophomore Julie Voss came from a set down at No. 6 singles to secure the victory.
BEATING THE BEST
The win over Wichita State 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).
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State enters the weekend 11-4 overall. The squad is 1-1 in the Big Ten, with a win at Illinois (5-2) and loss at Purdue (7-0) last week. The Spartans were ranked earlier this year, but dropped out this week. The squad is 7-1 at home this spring.
Christine Bader has played at No. 1 singles for the Spartans this spring, posting an 8-7 record. Jessica Baron has a team-high 10 wins in the dual season, with a 6-0 mark at No. 6. Bader joins with Stephanie Kebler at the No. 1 doubles position, where the tandem is 9-4. The squad has lost the doubles point just one time this spring.
Erica Perkins, a 2001 graduate of Washington State, is in her first year as the head coach of the Spartans. She has spent two years at the helm of Georgia Southern (compiling a 22-21 ledger) and also was on the William & Mary staff as an assistant coach.
BUCKEYES VS. SPARTANS
The Buckeyes lead the all-time series with the Spartans, 23-13. Under head coach Chuck Merzbacher, Ohio State has a ledger of 9-1 vs. Michigan State.
The Spartans posted a 4-3 win in Columbus last season (April 16, 2006), ending the Buckeyes’ nine-match winning streak vs. MSU.
SCOUTING SYRACUSE
Syracuse enters the weekend 5-7 overall and 1-1 in Big East play. The squad will play at Cincinnati Friday before facing the Buckeyes Sunday in Columbus.
Olga Votavova leads the Orange with nine wins this spring, including a 7-3 ledger at No. 1 singles. Maria Vasilyeva is second with six dual-match wins. The tandem pair up at the No. 1 doubles position and have combined for a 6-6 dual record.
Luke Jensen is in his first year at the helm of the Syracuse program. He was a two-time All-American at Southern California and was a successful professional player, garnering 10 ATP Tour doubles titles.
BUCKEYES VS. ORANGE
Ohio State and Syracuse have never faced each other on the tennis court.
HOME AGAIN
The Buckeyes’ match vs. Syracuse is the first match in Columbus for Ohio State since the squad beat Wisconsin (7-0) March 4. After finals week, the Buckeyes hit the road for two matches in Florida before matches at Minnesota and Iowa.
The squad is 6-1 in Columbus this year.
AHEAD OF THE PACK
Leading the Buckeyes in overall singles wins so far this season is freshman Christina Keesey, with 19. Classmate Ally Mueller is second with 17, followed by sophomore Julie Voss with 16.
In the dual season, Keesey has a team-best 12 wins, followed by Mueller with 11 and Voss with 10.
In doubles, seniors Sonia Ruzimovsky and Kristin Messmer each have a team-best 17 victories, followed by senior Ciara Finucane and junior Caitlin O’Keefe with 16 each.
The doubles tandem of O’Keefe and Ruzimovsky leads the squad with 15 wins this year.
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. The squad now is 2-1 in Big Ten play, with a win at Minnesota and loss at Iowa.
Ohio State wraps up its stretch of three-consecutive league matches at Michigan State Friday. After a non-conference game Sunday vs. Syracuse, the Buckeyes will play Big Ten foes in six of their final seven regular-season matches, facing just Notre Dame out of conference.
KEESEY HONORED
Ohio State freshman Christina Keesey was named the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Player of the Week, the conference announced March 21. Keesey posted two singles wins for the Buckeyes March 19, 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.
START ANOTHER
The Buckeyes had their season-high seven-match winning streak ended with a loss at Iowa last week. It was the team’s longest winning streak since the 2002 squad opened the year with eight-consecutive wins.
STREAKER
Sophomore Julie Voss came from a set down to beat Karina Chiarelli of Minnesota and extend her winning streak to a team-best 10 matches. Voss is a perfect 10-0 in dual matches this spring.
STARTING OVER
Two Buckeyes had long winning streaks ended vs. Iowa. Christina Keesey had won her last seven matches, while Ally Mueller was undefeated in her previous seven matches.
ANOTHER BLANK
Seven of the Buckeyes’ 12 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 March 19. 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.
The Buckeyes were shut out at Iowa last week, marking the first time the team was blanked this season and the first time the squad lost all three doubles matches this campaign.
A KEY
The Buckeyes have won the doubles point in 11 of their wins this season and in 13 of their 17 matches. The team won the doubles point vs. Marshall Feb. 17, but lost the match.
Against Minnesota, Ohio State lost the doubles point, but won four singles matches for the win.
THREE FOR THREE
The Buckeyes won three three-set matches in the victory over then-No. 16 Wichita State March 19, as Ally Mueller, Christina Keesey and Caitlin O’Keefe each came from a set down to help the Buckeyes to the upset 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 57 doubles wins.
Messmer recorded her 50th career doubles win against Wisconsin March 4 and is 54-42 in doubles in her career.
THE ROOKS MAKE AN IMPACT
The two Buckeye freshmen, Ally Mueller and Christina Keesey, both have played in all 17 matches for the Buckeyes so far this spring. Keesey is 12-5 in singles and 4-1 in doubles. Mueller is 11-5 in singles and 9-7 in doubles in the dual season.
FACING THE NATION’S BEST
The Buckeyes will take on 12 teams currently ranked in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association national poll this season, including Top 12 teams Notre Dame (second), Northwestern (10th) and William & Mary (12th/L 6-1). In addition, Ohio State has faced or will go up against No. 28 Wichita State (W 4-3), No. 33 Indiana, No. 35 Michigan, No. 37 Auburn (L 6-1), No. 50 Purdue, No. 53 Minnesota (W 4-3), No. 59 Iowa (L 7-0), No. 65 Marshall (L 5-2) and No. 70 Virginia Tech (L 5-2).
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 will play at Big Ten travel partner No. 33-ranked Indiana April 4 before returning home to face No. 10 Northwestern April 7 and No. 2 Notre Dame April 9.
