Ohio State Set for Beginning of Spring Schedule – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio State women’s tennis team will begin the spring schedule of the 2007-08 season at the MLK/Johan Kriek Classic Saturday in Fort Myers, Fla. The event includes seven other teams, consisting of Wichita State, Stetson, Miami (Fla.), Dartmouth, Florida International, South Florida and host Florida Gulf Coast.
Four of the teams are currently ranked ahead of the Buckeyes in the preseason ITA Top 75. Those teams are No. 11 Miami (Fla.), No. 29 South Florida, No. 31 Florida International and No. 32 Wichita State. Last season the Buckeyes knocked off then No. 16 Wichita State in Fort Myers at a neutral site event.
The MLK/Johan Kriek Classic is an individual, non-team scoring tournament. Five Buckeyes will be active for the tournament, including Caitlin O’Keefe, Cami Hubbs, Julie Blackmore, Paloma Escobedo and Julie Voss.
SPRING AHEAD
The MLK/Johan Kriek Classic will kick off the 2008 non-conference spring schedule, which includes six matches against opponents in the preseason ITA Top 75.
The Buckeyes will open up the Big Ten season March 8 at home against Indiana, but will first face 12 non-conference opponents. Opening with the first five dual matches on the road, the first home match for the Scarlet and Gray will come against South Florida Feb. 16.
Matches against six opponents ranked in the preseason ITA Top 75 highlight the pre-conference slate. A trip to No. 39 Virginia for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Feb. 1 begins ranked action, while a match two days later against No. 60 Virginia Tech follows. No. 9 Notre Dame will be the next challenge, followed by No. 29 South Florida, No. 45 Oregon and 75th-ranked Louisville.
BUCKEYES IN THE RANKINGS
The Ohio State women’s tennis team is ranked 52nd in the nation according to the preseason ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Christina Keesey and Angela DiPastina are picked as the No. 33 doubles team nationally.
Keesey and DiPastina are also ranked in the preseason Midwest Region FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. DiPastina is ranked 24th in singles while freshman Paloma Escobedo is ranked 13th in the Midwest Region.
The Buckeyes finished the spring schedule last season ranked 52nd nationally. Despite the loss of five letterwinners, the Buckeyes have reloaded by adding Escobedo and fellow freshman Cami Hubbs. Hubbs went 12-2 on the fall season and won the Flight C singles championship at the Baylor Invitational. Escobedo went 5-3 during the fall and is 13th in the preseason Midwest rankings.
DiPastina and Keesey pulled off the biggest upset of the fall season when they knocked off the nation’s No. 1 doubles team from William & Mary at the ITA Indoor National Championships. On the fall season, the Buckeyes’ pair went 5-2.
WINNING WAYS
In just 14 collegiate matches, freshman Cami Hubbs is already leading the Ohio State women’s tennis team in wins with 12 victories. During the fall season, Hubbs reached two tournament finals, winning at the Baylor Invitational and falling in the final of the Hokie Invite. Hubbs also reached the round of 16 in the Midwest Regional Qualifier before falling in the first round of the main draw.
Second on the team in wins is junior Angela DiPastina. A native of Titusville, N.J., DiPastina dropped only two matches in fall play and won the Flight B title of the Hokie Invite. Last season’s co-win leader, Christina Keesey, was third on the team with seven victories in the fall.
STELLAR FRESHMAN
Despite the loss of five letterwinners from a season ago, the Buckeyes reloaded with the addition of freshmen Paloma Escobedo and Cami Hubbs.
Following an undefeated high school career, Hubbs went 12-2 on the fall season and won the Flight C singles championship at the Baylor Invitational. Additionally, she went 5-3 in doubles action on the fall.
Escobedo was immediately thrust into Flight A competition, finishing with a 5-3 record. The native of Houston, Texas, was 13th in the preseason Midwest singles rankings.
O’KEEFE NAMED CAPTAIN
Caitlin O’Keefe is the lone senior on the squad, and as such, will be looked to for leadership in key parts of the season.
“She’s our only senior, but she has also been a leader from the day she got here,” Merzbacher said of O’Keefe. “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 held a 16-15 record in singles matches, as well as a 21-12 mark in doubles competition. Her winning percentage with doubles partner Sonia Ruzimovsky was .680, good for second in the Big Ten.
A NEW HOME
The Ohio State University Varsity Tennis Center is the new indoor venue for the men’s and women’s tennis teams and opened in November. Located at 880 West Henderson Road in northwest Columbus, the 57,000 square foot center has six courts covered with a Plexipave surface.
The indoor tennis center accommodates approximately 400 spectator seats, plus standing room. In addition to 156 bleacher seats, the facility features 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 houses the coaches’ offices, as well as locker rooms and team and recruiting rooms.
RECAPPING FALL ACTION
The fall season was a successful one for the Buckeyes and will provide a great launching point for the spring schedule. Ohio State competed in four events, the Baylor Invitational, the Hokie Invitational, the Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships and the Wilson/ITA National Indoor Championships.
The Scarlet and Gray opened at the Baylor Invite with freshman Cami Hubbs going undefeated in Flight C singles to take home her first collegiate title. Sophomore Christina Keesey advanced to the finals of both the consolation Flight A singles and the Flight B Doubles, falling in both.
At the Hokie Invite, junior Angela DiPastina won the Flight B singles crown while teammate Julie Blackmore won the Flight C singles title and lost in the final of the Flight B doubles.
The ITA Midwest Championships came next, with DiPastina making a run to the Round of 16, where she fell to the third-seeded Cosmina Ciobanu of Notre Dame 6-3, 6-4. Hubbs went 4-1on the tournament, earning a qualifying bid into the main draw and winning a consolation match.
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