Ohio State Women’s Tennis Heads to Big Ten Championship in Minneapolis – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 26, 2007
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Columbus, Ohio – The No. 46-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team (18-9, 5-3 Big Ten) will travel to Minneapolis for the 2007 Big Ten Championship this weekend.
The No. 5-seed Buckeyes will take on No. 4 Iowa at 11 a.m. ET Friday in the quarterfinal round. The winner of that match will face the winner of the No. 1 Northwestern vs. No. 8 Penn State/No. 9 Michigan State winner in the semifinals at 11 a.m. ET Saturday. The championship match, with the winner earning the league’s bid into the NCAA championship tournament, will be at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.
BIG TEN TOURNEY BASICS
The Top 5 seeds get byes into the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Championship.
THE MATCHUPS
Thursday, April 26
No. 8 Penn State vs. No. 9 Michigan State
No. 6 Purdue vs. No. 11 Wisconsin
No. 7 Minnesota vs. No. 10 Illinois
Friday, April 27 – Quarterfinals
No. 1 Northwestern vs. No. 8/9 winner
No. 4 Iowa vs. No. 5 Ohio State
No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 6/11 winner
No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 7/10 winner
Saturday, April 28 – Semifinals
Sunday, April 29 – Championship Final
IN THE RANKINGS
Ohio State was ranked 46th in the Fila ITA Rankings released Tuesday. The Buckeyes entered the rankings March 27 at No. 46, moved to No. 48 and No. 50 the following two weeks and was a season-best 43rd last week.
Ohio State downed then-No. 16 Wichita State and then-No. 51 Minnesota each by 4-3 scores the week prior to entering the rankings.
The ranking of 43rd April 17 was the highest ranking since the 2004 squad ended the year ranked 41st. The Buckeyes’ ranking March 27 was the first time Ohio State was ranked since holding down the No. 73 spot April 11, 2006.
A BUCKEYE BRIEF
Ohio State is 18-9 overall this season. The squad was 6-4 in Big Ten play, with wins over Minnesota (4-3), Wisconsin (7-0), Michigan State (5-2), Purdue (5-2), Illinois (4-3) and Penn State (6-1) and losses to the teams that finished in the Top 4 teams in the final Big Ten regular-season standings – Iowa (7-0), Indiana (6-1), Northwestern (7-0) and Michigan (6-1).
RACKING THEM UP
The Buckeyes have 18 wins this season, the most wins for the squad since the 2002 team ended the year 19-7 to set the program record for wins in a season. The 18 wins are the second-highest mark in a single season in program history, matching the totals posted by the 1983 and 2000.
AHEAD OF THE PACK
Leading the Buckeyes in overall singles wins this season is freshman Christina Keesey with 23 and sophomore Julie Voss with 23 each. Freshman Ally Mueller is third with 21.
In the dual season, Voss ranks first with 17 wins, followed by Keesey with 16 and Mueller with 15.
In doubles, senior Sonia Ruzimovsky has a team-high 21 wins, followed by junior Caitlin O’Keefe with 20.
The doubles tandem of O’Keefe and Ruzimovsky leads the squad with 19 wins this year.
LAST TIME OUT
The Buckeyes were 1-1 last weekend, losing at home to No. 25-ranked Michigan, 6-1, before rebounding for a 6-1 victory over Penn State Sunday.
Against the Wolverines, sophomore Julie Voss won in straight sets at No. 6 singles for the Buckeyes’ point. The doubles duo of Angela DiPastina and Christina Keesey also won.
Against the Nittany Lions, the Buckeyes won the doubles point and 5-of-6 singles matches, with senior Sonia Ruzimovsky clinching the win, for the victory on Senior Day.
AT THE TOURNAMENT
The No. 7-seed Buckeyes lost in the first round of the 2006 Big Ten tournament to No. 10 Illinois, 4-2, last season in Champaign, Ill.
The squad had a run to the tournament’s championship mtach in 2004, downing Illinois and Iowa before falling to Northwestern in the final.
BUCKEYES VS. HAWKEYES
The Buckeyes will face Iowa in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten championship Friday.
The Hawkeyes posted a 7-0 win over the Buckeyes in Iowa City, Iowa, in the regular-season meeting earlier this year (March 25).
Ohio State is 13-20 all-time vs. Iowa. Under head coach Chuck Merzbacher, the Buckeyes have a 6-7 ledger vs. the Hawkeyes (4-7 regular season). Ohio State is looking to stop a three-match losing streak to Iowa.
The Buckeyes have beaten the Hawkeyes in the two previous meetings in the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State downed Iowa both in 2004 (4-3) and in 2001 (4-2).
CLUTCH
Senior Sonia Ruzimovsky has clinched the Buckeyes’ last three Big Ten wins. She had with three-set victories at the No. 4 singles spot against both Purdue April 14 and Illinois April 15 before a straight-set victory against Penn State Sunday.
Against Purdue, Ruzimovsky rallied after losing the second set to beat Cigdem Duru, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 and post the Buckeyes’ fourth point for the victory in their 5-2 win. (The two remaining matches on court also were in a third set.)
Against Illinois, Ruzimovsky came from a set down to beat Kristina Minor, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, and clinch the Buckeyes’ 4-3 win.
Vs. the Nittany Lions, Ruzimovsky downed Lauren Holzberg (6-4, 6-3), posting the Buckeyes’ fourth point.
IN THE CONFERENCE
The Buckeyes placed fifth in the final regular-season standings of the Big Ten this season with a 6-4 ledger. It was the team’s highest finish since tying for second in 2004 when results were adjusted after the Big Ten tournament.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Eight of the Buckeyes’ 18 wins this season have been 7-0 shutouts, tying the program record for shutouts in a season. The 1978-79 squad had eight shutout victories in 18 matches that season, posting a 13-5 overall mark.
This season, 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, Florida Gulf Coast March 19 and Wright State April 9.
BIG IN THE BIG TEN
Buckeye sophomore Julie Voss is second in the Big Ten this spring in winning percentage (17-3/.850). At the No. 6 spot, her 14-2 (.875) ledger ranks second.
The doubles tandem of Caitlin O’Keefe and Sonia Ruzimovsky leads the Big Ten with 18 dual-match doubles wins as a team and are second among No. 2 doubles teams with a .680 winning percentage (17-8).
IN THE BOOKS
Senior Sonia Ruzimovsky now has 61 career doubles wins to rank 13th in program history. Her 62 singles wins are tied for 15th in program history (with Laura Schubert, 1976-79).
Ruzimovsky has a career singles mark of 62-47. Her winning percentage of .569 is 18th all-time in OSU history.
A KEY
The Buckeyes have won the doubles point in 15 of their 18 wins this season and in 16 of their 27 matches.
Against Minnesota, Ohio State lost the doubles point, but won four singles matches for the win. At both Purdue and Michigan State the Buckeyes were swept in doubles but went on to win five singles matches to record the victory.
WHERE THEY’RE WINNING
The Buckeyes have combined for a 22-5 mark at No. 6 singles this season. Julie Voss is first with a 14-2 mark, while Angela DiPastina is 6-3 and Ciara Finucane is 2-0.
The team has posted 17-10 marks at both Nos. 2 and 4 singles and is 16-11 at Nos. 3 and 5. In doubles, the Buckeyes have identical 19-8 marks at both Nos. 2 and 3.
THE ROOKS MAKE AN IMPACT
The two Buckeye freshmen, Ally Mueller and Christina Keesey, both have played in all 27 matches for the Buckeyes so far this spring and have played in the Top 3 singles positions the majority of the dual season. Keesey is 16-10 in singles and 8-4 in doubles. Mueller is 15-11 in singles and 8-11 in doubles in the dual season.
WHAT A WAY TO WIN
Ohio State has two 4-3 victories over ranked teams this year, 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 then-No. 16 Wichita State March 19 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).
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 is the first Buckeye to be honored by the league this season and the first since Lindsay Williams in February 2004.
FACING THE NATION’S BEST
The Buckeyes have taken on 13 teams currently ranked in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association national poll this season, including Top 13 teams Northwestern (5th/L 7-0) Notre Dame (6th/L 7-0), and William & Mary (13th/L 6-1). In addition, Ohio State has faced No. 25 Indiana (L 6-1), No. 25 Michigan (L 6-1), No. 28 Auburn (L 6-1), No. 36 Wichita State (W 4-3), No. 45 Purdue (W 5-2), No. 53 Iowa (L 7-0), No. 59 Virginia Tech (L 5-2), No. 60 Minnesota (W 4-3), No. 61 Marshall (L 5-2) and No. 70 Louisville (W 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.
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 NCAA will announce the field for the 2007 NCAA Division I women’s tennis championship May 1 on ESPNEWS at about 2:45 p.m. ET.
The Buckeyes have seven all-time appearances in the NCAA team tournament, including six-consecutive from 1999-2004.
