Women’s Tennis: Ohio State Announces 2008-09 Schedule – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Buckeyes take on 17 opponents that finished ranked in the 2008 ITA Top 75
COLUMBUS, Ohio Chuck Merzbacher, head coach of the Ohio State women’s tennis team, announced the team’s 2008-09 schedule Wednesday, a slate that features 17 matches against opponents who finished in the final 2008 ITA Top 75.
“We are excited about announcing this year’s very challenging schedule,” Merzbacher said. “The program will be building off an NCAA appearance and our goal of being a Top 20 nationally ranked program can be realized by progressing through this tough schedule.”
The Buckeyes will open the 2008-09 schedule at the William and Mary Invitational in Williamsburg, Va., Sept. 19-21. They will then travel to both the All-American Championships and the Indiana Fall Invitational, which run from Oct. 3-5. The ITA Midwest Championships in East Lansing, Mich., follow, and the ITA National Indoors in Charlottesville, Va., round out the fall campaign.
The spring schedule, which is one of the most challenging in recent memory, opens Jan. 24 against Missouri at the Ohio State Varsity Tennis Center. Highlights of the non-conference spring schedule include a match up with perennial power Notre Dame Jan. 25 in Columbus, a contest with SEC foe Kentucky Feb. 4, and a west-coast road swing against Washington State and Oregon Feb. 21-22.
The Scarlet and Gray also travel to Durham, N.C., for the National Indoor Qualifier Jan. 30-31. Ohio State takes on South Carolina in the opening match and will face either Duke or VCU in the second match.
The Big Ten season opens Feb. 28 when the Buckeyes welcome Penn State to Columbus. Michigan and Michigan State visit April 3 and 5, followed by a date with Illinois and Indiana April 10 and 12, respectively. The regular season closes out on the road at defending Big Ten champion Northwestern April 18 and at Wisconsin April 19.
Ohio State then returns to Madison, Wis., for the Big Ten tournament April 23-26. The NCAA regionals begin at campus sites May 8-10, followed by the NCAA championships May 15-25 in College Station, Texas.
