Ohio State Women’s Tennis Wraps Up 2007 Campaign – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 29, 2007
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Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s tennis team ended the 2007 campaign 18-10 overall and finished fifth in the Big Ten with a 6-4 ledger.
AND THE AWARD GOES TO …
At the annual team banquet May 11 in the University Suite in Ohio Stadium, head coach Chuck Merzbacher announced the team awards for 2006-07.
Freshman Christina Keesey was named the Most Valuable Player, the first Buckeye rookie to win the award since Kristy Dascoli in 1998.
Sophomore Julie Voss was the winner of the Most Improved Player accolade.
Keesey and Voss shared the team lead in singles wins with 23 each this season.
Angela DiPastina, a sophomore, was honored with the Coach’s Award, given to the hardest worker.
Keesey also was the winner of the Buckeye Power Club Award for strength and conditioning.
Seniors Sonia Ruzimovsky and Ciara Finucane were honored for their careers with the Scarlet and Gray.
IN THE RANKINGS
Ohio State entered the Fila ITA national rankings March 27 and remained ranked through the conclusion of the season. The squad ended the year ranked 52nd nationally.
The Buckeyes entered the rankings March 27 at No. 46, moved to No. 48 and No. 50 the following two weeks and were a season-best 43rd April 17.
The ranking of 43rd April 17 was the team’s highest ranking since the 2004 squad ended the year 41st.
The Buckeyes’ ranking March 27 was the first time Ohio State was in the national polls since holding down the No. 73 spot April 11, 2006.
RACKING THEM UP
The Buckeyes had 18 wins in 2006-07, 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 teams.
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.
This year, the squad posted conference wins over Minnesota (4-3), Wisconsin (7-0), Michigan State (5-2), Purdue (5-2), Illinois (4-3) and Penn State (6-1) and had 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).
AHEAD OF THE PACK IN SINGLES
Freshman Christina Keesey and sophomore Julie Voss tied for the team lead with 23 wins each.Freshman Ally Mueller was third with 21.
In the dual season, Voss ranked first with 17 wins, followed by Keesey with 16 and Mueller with 15.
AHEAD OF THE PACK IN DOUBLES
Senior Sonia Ruzimovsky had a team-high 22 doubles wins in 2006-07, followed by junior and doubles partner Caitlin O’Keefe with 21.
The doubles tandem of O’Keefe and Ruzimovsky led the squad with 20 wins on the year, including 19 dual-match victories.
IN THE BOOKS
Senior Sonia Ruzimovsky ended her career with 62 doubles wins to rank 13th in program history. Her 62 singles wins are tied for 15th in program history (Laura Schubert, 1976-79).
Ruzimovsky has a career singles mark of 62-48. Her winning percentage of .564 is 18th all-time in OSU history.
THE ROOKS MAKE AN IMPACT
The two Buckeye freshmen, Ally Mueller and Christina Keesey, both played in all 28 matches for the Buckeyes this spring, spending the majority of the dual season at the Top 3 singles positions.
During the spring, Keesey was 16-11, with a 7-1 ledger at No. 2 and 9-10 mark at No. 3. Mueller was 15-12 in dual matches, going 2-3 at No. 1, 5-5 at No. 2 and 3-0 at No. 3, as well as 2-2 at No. 4 and 3-2 at No. 5.
Keesey’s 23 overall wins are tied for the fifth-most in program history by a freshman, while Mueller is tied for 11th.
Kristen Jordan and current assistant coach Sadhaf Pervez each had 27 wins as rookies to set the program mark.
CLUTCH
Senior Sonia Ruzimovsky clinched the Buckeyes’ last three Big Ten wins of 2007. She had 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 April 22.
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.
In the match vs. the Nittany Lions, Ruzimovsky downed Lauren Holzberg (6-4, 6-3), posting the Buckeyes’ fourth point.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Eight of the Buckeyes’ 18 wins this season were 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
Through the regular season, Buckeye sophomore Julie Voss was second in the Big Ten in winning percentage (17-3/.850). At the No. 6 spot, her 14-2 (.875) ledger ranked second.
The doubles tandem of Caitlin O’Keefe and Sonia Ruzimovsky led the Big Ten with 18 dual-match doubles wins as a team and was second among No. 2 doubles teams with a .680 winning percentage (17-8).
A KEY
The Buckeyes won the doubles point in 15 of their 18 wins this season and in 17 of their 28 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.
THE TOP SPOTS
The Buckeyes combined for a 22-5 mark at No. 6 singles this season, the most wins over any singles position. Julie Voss was first with a 14-2 mark, while Angela DiPastina was 6-3 and Ciara Finucane was 2-0.
The team posted 17-11 marks at Nos. 2, 4 and 5 and was 16-12 at No. 3.
In doubles, the Buckeyes had identical 19-8 marks at both Nos. 2 and 3.
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 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 faced 14 teams that ended the year ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national poll this season, including Top 15 teams Northwestern (8th/L 7-0) Notre Dame (7th/L 7-0), and William & Mary (15th/L 6-1). In addition, Ohio State faced No. 22 Michigan (L 6-1), No. 24 Indiana (L 6-1), No. 29 Auburn (L 6-1), No. 31 Wichita State (W 4-3), No. 47 Purdue (W 5-2), No. 51 Iowa (L 7-0/L 4-2 BT tourney), No. 60 Virginia Tech (L 5-2), No. 61 Minnesota (W 4-3), No. 65 Marshall (L 5-2) and No. 74 Louisville (W 5-2).
Seven of the Buckeyes’ 2007 opponents earned a spot in the NCAA championship tournament, including quarterfinalist Notre Dame, Round of 16 teams William and Mary and Northwestern, and three four first-round winners (Auburn, Wichita State, Indiana and Michigan).
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 recently won her fourth state championship while playing at Omaha Westside High School, ending her career 117-0 without dropping a set. Hubbs is a standout in doubles and has been ranked as high as seventh nationally.
