Ohio State Women’s Tennis Heads to Baylor Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio State women’s tennis team will compete at the H-E-B Baylor Invitational this weekend in Waco, Texas, on the campus of Baylor University. The Buckeyes will face six opponents who finished in the 2007 ITA Top 75 Rankings. Chuck Merzbacher, Buckeye head coach, knows the importance of the tournament.
“We really want to come out early and set the tone for the season, which this meet will let us do,” Merzbacher said. “This early season schedule is crucial for eligibility in the NCAA tournament, and we want to make an impression on the nation right away.”
Seventeen teams will enter the competition, including host Baylor, which finished last season as the 13th ranked team in the nation. Other notable opponents include Kentucky, which finished 33rd, TCU, which finished 38th, along with Oklahoma State, South Alabama and SMU, who all finished in the ITA Top 75. Ohio State finished at No. 52.
O’Keefe Named Captain
Now in her fourth season, senior Caitlin O’Keefe has been named the captain of the 2007 Ohio State women’s tennis team by head coach Chuck Merzbacher.
“She’s our only senior, but she has also been a leader from the day she got here,” Merzbacher said. “She really knows how to win and will help us reach our potential with her leadership. It’s going to be very exciting watching her this season.”
Last season, O’Keefe and doubles partner Sonia Ruzimovsky led the Big Ten in doubles victories with 18. O’Keefe trailed only Ruzimovsky in team doubles wins with 21.
Back for Another Swing
After a fifth place finish in Big Ten conference play a season ago, Caitlin O’Keefe, Julie Blackmore, Angela DiPastina, Julie Voss, Christina Keesey and Ally Mueller all return in search of a Big Ten championship.
“The girls we have back know what it takes to win at this level,” Merzbacher said. “They have put in long hours this summer and have raised their games to a championship level. We expect to see some great things from them this season.”
Coming Soon
Following Baylor, the Buckeyes will travel to the Hokie Invitational Oct. 5-7 in a tournament hosted by Virginia Tech. The ITA Midwest Regionals follow from Oct. 18-23 at Ann Arbor, Mich., and then the Buckeyes will host the ITA Nationals taking place Nov. 1-4. Big non-conference dual-matches include contests at Notre Dame and Virginia, and home matchups against South Florida and Oregon.
From there, Ohio State will enter Big Ten competition in search of its first Big Ten championship since the 1999-00 season and first NCAA tournament bid since 2003-04.
Two Buckeyes Making Debut
The Baylor Invitational will also mark the first collegiate matches of highly touted freshmen Paloma Escobedo and Cameron Hubbs, who both had distinguished junior careers.
Hubbs, a three-time National High School All-American, held a 117-0 high school record at Omaha Westside and was a four-time Nebraska state champion.
Escobedo was ranked No. 19 in the national recruiting class of 2007. She held the top spot for the Girls’ 18s in Texas and was ranked 54th in the nation. 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.
A New Home
The Ohio State University Indoor Tennis Center is the new indoor venue for the men’s and women’s tennis teams and is slated to open in November 2007. Located at 880 West Henderson Road in northwest Columbus, the 57,000 square foot center will have six courts covered with a Plexipave surface.
The indoor tennis center will accommodate approximately 400 spectator seats, plus standing room. In addition to 156 bleacher seats, the facility will feature 64 cabaret-style seats on court level at the north end and 96 individual seats in the south end. Additionally, 66 theatre-style seats will be available.
The site also will house the coaches’ offices, as well as locker rooms and team and recruiting rooms.
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