Women’s Tennis: Ohio State Opens at Home With Pair Of Matches – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Buckeyes take on No. 31 South Florida and Toledo in the inaugural matches at the Varsity Tennis Center
COLUMBUS, Ohio The No. 47 Ohio State women’s tennis team (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) will host No. 31 South Florida (6-2, 0-0 Big East) at 11 a.m. and in-state opponent Toledo (3-2, 0-0 MAC) at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Ohio State Varsity Tennis Center in the first home matches of the year for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State and South Florida are meeting in dual meet action for the first time since 1994, when the Bulls topped the Buckeyes, 6-0. All-time, Ohio State is 0-5 against South Florida, spanning back to their first meeting in 1977. The match against the Bulls will be the first competition for the Buckeyes in the newly opened Varsity Tennis Center.
The Buckeyes and Rockets have met 10 times previously, with Ohio State taking nine of those matches. This meeting will be the first in 14 years between the teams. The Buckeyes came out on top the last time the teams met on the court, winning 9-0 in the home opener of the 1993-94 season.
SPENDING TIME AT HOME
The double-header with No. 31 South Florida and Toledo kicks off an eight-match homestand for the Buckeyes, which spans over three weeks of the spring season. Visiting teams include No. 51 Oregon Feb. 24, Louisville and Cleveland State Feb. 27, Cornell and Eastern Michigan March 2. The Big Ten opener with No. 27 Indiana March 8 concludes the eight-game stand.
Following the Ft. Myers Collegiate Invite March 17, Ohio State will return and play four-consecutive home matches before leaving Columbus and traveling to Northwestern and Wisconsin in early April.
NO LUCK WITH THE IRISH
Ohio State was defeated by No. 14 Notre Dame, 5-2, Thursday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in Notre Dame, Ind. The loss to the Fighting Irish was the first of the season for the Buckeyes.
The highlight of the match for the Buckeyes came at the No. 4 singles spot, where junior Julie Blackmore upset No. 88 Colleen Rielley, 7-5, 6-2. Paloma Escobedo snapped her personal three-match losing streak this spring against No. 64 Brook Buck at the No. 2 singles spot following the retirement of Buck because of injury.
In her first career turn at No. 1 singles, junior Angela DiPastina fell to Kelcy Tefft, 6-4, 6-2. Sophomore Christina Keesey battled with No. 62 Cosmina Ciobanu, taking her to three sets before falling, 6-0, 3-6, 6-2.
Freshman Cami Hubbs and senior Caitlin O’Keefe each lost their match, with No. 82 Katie Potts beating Hubbs, 6-1, 6-1, at the No. 5 spot and No. 89 Kali Krisik topping O’Keefe at the No. 6 spot, 6-1, 6-3.
The Scarlet and Gray were swept in doubles, marking the third-consecutive match in which they lost the doubles point. DiPastina and Keesey were defeated by the third-ranked Fighting Irish tandem of Buck and Tefft in No. 1 doubles, 8-2, while Krisik and Kristen Rafael dropped Blackmore and Hubbs in a close game, 8-6, at the second spot. Escobedo and O’Keefe also lost, falling to Ciobanu and Rielley, 8-3, at No. 3.
The loss extends the Buckeyes’ losing streak against the Irish to 13 matches. Ohio State is now 3-15 all-time against Notre Dame.
BUCKEYES SWEEP VIRGINIA TOUR
Ohio State swept through Virginia the weekend of Feb. 1, picking up wins over ACC opponents Virginia Tech and Virginia.
The Buckeyes began in Charlottesville against the Cavaliers on Feb. 1, winning a close 4-3 decision. The victory was spurred by Christina Keesey at the No. 3 spot, Julie Blackmore at the No. 4 spot, Cami Hubbs at the No. 5 and Caitlin O’Keefe at the No. 6 singles spots, who each won their matches and helped overcome the loss of the doubles point.
In Blacksburg, it was more of the same as the Scarlet and Gray defeated the Hokies, 5-2, after again losing the doubles point and rallying behind more solid play from the Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 spots. It was Keesey who claimed the clinching point in a second-set tiebreaker win over Jessica Long, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
BIG RANKS IN THE BIG TEN
Entering the week, Christina Keesey, Julie Blackmore and Cami Hubbs were all 4-0 and held the lead in their respective singles spots in the Big Ten. In addition, all three were tied for third in the Big Ten in wins.
Keesey, a native of Northfield, Minn., is now in her sophomore campaign with the Buckeyes. Playing in the No. 3 spot, she has helped the Buckeyes to a 4-1 start this season, including winning the clinching match against Virginia Tech.
Blackmore led the Buckeyes in their two victories in Virginia, clinching the team’s come-from-behind win against Virginia with a 3-set victory and also had a straight sets win from the No. 4 spot against Virginia Tech to help the team to a 5-2 triumph. Additionally, Blackmore was selected as the Ohio State athlete of the week for Feb. 5.
Freshman Hubbs continued in her winning ways by picking up two more wins against Virginia and Virginia Tech and now has a team-high 18 wins.
Caitlin O’Keefe, the lone senior on the squad, is now 4-0 on the season from the No. 6 spot. Despite an injury-shortened fall season, O’Keefe has hit the ground running in the spring and is now third in the Big Ten in wins from the No. 6 spot.
MOVIN’ ON UP
Ohio State is now ranked as the No. 47 team in the ITA Top 75 after its 4-0 start and two victories over ranked programs.
The Buckeyes began the season as the No. 52 team before moving up to No. 50 in the Jan. 29 rankings with two victories on the opening weekend of competition.
MILWAUKEE’S BEST
On the road in Milwaukee, Wis., Ohio State swept its opening weekend of competition by knocking off Oklahoma, 6-1, and defeating host Marquette, 7-0.
Julie Blackmore, Cami Hubbs and Caitlin O’Keefe each went unbeaten in singles and doubles competition, while freshman Paloma Escobedo suffered her sole singles loss against No. 33-ranked Ana-Maria Constaninescu of Oklahoma in No. 1 singles. Christina Keesey and Angela DiPastina were each 2-0 in singles play, but fell once in doubles competition.
On the weekend, Ohio State dropped only one match and lost just five sets in singles competition.
SPRING AHEAD
The home-opener with No. 31 South Florida and Toledo will begin an extended, eight match homestand for the Buckeyes. Following a roadtrip to the Fort Myers Collegiate Invite, Ohio State will once more return home for an additional four matches.
The Scarlet and Gray open the Big Ten season March 8 against Indiana at 10 a.m.
BUCKEYES IN THE RANKINGS
The Ohio State women’s tennis team is ranked 47th in the nation according to the latest ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings released Feb. 5. Christina Keesey and Angela DiPastina were picked as the No. 33 doubles team nationally.
Keesey and DiPastina were also ranked in the preseason Midwest Region FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. DiPastina was ranked 24th in singles while freshman Paloma Escobedo was 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 23 collegiate matches, freshman Cami Hubbs is already leading the Ohio State women’s tennis team in wins with 18 victories. Hubbs went 2-1 at the FGCU/Johan Kriek Classic in her first action of the spring, followed by an additional two wins against Marquette and Oklahoma in dual matches. Hubbs picked up two more wins against Holly Johnson of Virginia Tech and Lara Alexander of Virginia.
During her prep career, Hubbs recorded an unblemished 117-0 record, won four consecutive metro and state titles and led her team to three state championships.
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 provided 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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