Women’s Tennis: Ohio State Ends Season with Loss to Auburn – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio The No. 35 Ohio State women’s tennis team (19-8, 6-4 Big Ten) lost to No. 29 Auburn (17-9, 5-6 SEC ), 4-3, in the opening round of the NCAA tournament Friday in Gainesville, Fla., on the campus of the University of Florida. The Buckeyes, who were making the seventh NCAA appearance in program history and first since 2004, end their year 19-8, which matches the program record for wins in a season (2002).
As they had done 18 times this season, Ohio State took the doubles point. Paloma Escobedo and Caitlin O’Keefe won, 8-6, over Gaby Beelan and Jil Hastenrath at the No. 3 spot for the first Buckeye doubles victory. Julie Blackmore and Cami Hubbs picked up an 8-6 win of their own over Whitney Chappell and Fani Chifchieva at the No. 2 spot.
The doubles win for Blackmore was her 31st of the season, which broke the Ohio State record previously held by Wendy Stewart (1979) and Monica Rincon (2001). Escobedo had 27 doubles wins as a rookie this year, ranking ninth (tied) in OSU history.
Angela DiPastina and Christina Keesey took the No. 14th-ranked tandem of Alex Haney and Melissa Koning to the ropes, but eventually fell, 8-6, at the top spot.
Singles action saw Auburn quickly claim two matches. No. 71 Haney knocked off DiPastina, 6-2, 6-1, in No. 2 singles while Cami Hubbs was dealt a rare loss by Chappell at the No. 4 position, 6-3, 6-3. Hubbs was 36-7 in singles during 2007-08, setting the program record for wins in a campaign.
The Scarlet and Gray responded from the No. 6 spot, as O’Keefe won, 6-4, 6-3, over Dunja Djuranovic to tie the match at 2-all. O’Keefe, the lone senior on the Buckeye squad this year, finishes her Ohio State career ninth in the record book with 68 singles wins.
Koning gave the Tigers their third point, dealing Blackmore a 6-4, 6-3, loss in No. 3 singles. Blackmore had 27 singles wins this season, good for seventh (tied) in Ohio State history for a single campaign.
Keesey quickly tied the match from the No. 5 position, winning 6-4, 6-4, over Hastenrath.
With the match on the line, Escobedo faced off with SEC Player of the Year and the 14th-ranked Chifchieva at the top singles spot. Following a tightly contested first set won by Chifchieva in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), Escobedo was unable to sustain her success into the second set and lost the match, 7-6 (4), 6-1.
Post-match Quotes
Ohio State Head Coach Chuck Merzbacher
On the overall play of the team:
“I thought we played really well. We got the doubles point, which gave us the chance to be in the match, and I thought that was key. We showed up today, it was hot out there and I think the girls handled that really well. I’m just really proud of them. We had a great year and we played hard in this match and gave ourselves a chance to win.”
On who stood out for the Buckeyes on Friday:
“I thought our senior and captain (Caitlin O’Keefe) really stepped up her game. It was her only NCAA tournament and she went 2-0, winning her doubles and her singles, so I would say emotionally that was something special and we’re really proud of her. I would say that Christina Keesey stepped up, and then obviously our number one player, our freshman (Paloma Escobedo), proved that she can play with anyone in the country.”
Auburn head coach Tim Gray
On advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championships:
“We’re really excited. First of all, hats off to Ohio State. We knew they were a very solid team coming in, and they played a great match. We knew that it was going to be tight, so we feel great about moving on. We wish it would’ve been a little bit shorter of a match because Florida’s tough even when you have a lot of rest, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
On how the Tigers competed on Friday:
“It’s difficult when you have a few weeks off, and I’m sure it was the same for Ohio State. We just finished exams, so you lose some of your continuity and rhythm. That’s where we were in the doubles, but I felt we turned it around in the singles and found our rhythm. That was the difference in today’s match.”
Tennis Match Results
Ohio State vs Auburn
May 09, 2008 at Gainesville, Fla.
#29 Auburn 4, #35 Ohio State 3
Singles competition
1. #14 Fani Chifchieva (AUB) def. Paloma Escobedo (OSU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
2. #71 Alex Haney (AUB) def. Angela DiPastina (OSU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Melissa Koning (AUB) def. Julie Blackmore (OSU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Whitney Chappell (AUB) def. Cami Hubbs (OSU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Christina Keesey (OSU) def. Jil Hastenrath (AUB) 6-4, 6-4
6. Caitlin O’Keefe (OSU) def. Dunja Djuranovic (AUB) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #14 Alex Haney/Melissa Koning (AUB) def. Angela DiPastina/Christina Keesey (OSU) 8-6
2. Julie Blackmore/Cami Hubbs (OSU) def. Whitney Chappell/Fani Chifchieva (AUB) 8-6
3. Paloma Escobedo/Caitlin O’Keefe (OSU) def. Gaby Beelan/Jil Hastenrath (AUB) 8-6
Match Notes:
Ohio State 19-8; National ranking #35
Auburn 17-9; National ranking #29
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,4,6,3,5,1)
