Ohio State to Face No. 10 Tennessee at Home Sunday – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 16, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 64th-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team hosts the 10th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers at noon Sunday inside the Ohio State Varsity Tennis Center (880 Henderson Road).
?
Admission to all regular season home matches is free.
FOLLOW ALONG?
Throughout the season, stay connected with the Buckeyes on Twitter @OhioState_WTEN or on Facebook at facebook.com/OhioState_WTEN.
?
ON DECK FOR OHIO STATE?
Following the home match against Tennessee, Ohio State goes on the road to face Louisville in Louisville, Ky., Feb. 22, followed by home tilts against DePaul Feb. 24 and Arkansas Feb. 26.
TENNESSEE AT A GLANCE?
The 10th-ranked Volunteers have won five of their last six matches, including four wins against teams ranked in the ITA Top 25. Sophomore Brynn Boren, ranked 35th nationally, leads the team in singles wins (13), followed by 37th-ranked senior Natalie Pluskota (12) and 38th-ranked junior Kata Szekely (10). The second-ranked doubles tandem of Boren and Sarah Toti has notched 19 victories and is 8-0 in dual matches in 2012.
Tennessee is led by 24th-year co-head coach Mike Patrick and 14th-year co-head coach Sonia Hahn-Patrick.
?
THE VOLUNTEERS-BUCKEYES SERIES
?Ohio State is 2-12 all-time against Tennessee. The teams have squared off three times in the last two seasons, including twice in 2011. The Volunteers took those two matches, 6-1 and 7-0, respectively. The Buckeyes’ last victory over the Volunteers came in the 1986 season.
TENNESSEE CONNECTION
First-year assistant coach Melissa Schaub graduated from Tennessee in 2006 following a career where she earned All-America and second team All-SEC accolades as a freshman before finishing in the Top 10 in program history with 70 doubles victories.
Schaub then spent four years as an assistant coach for Middle Tennessee State before moving into the head coach position for the Blue Raiders.
?
PERFECT IN 2012?
Junior Fidan Manashirova moved into the national singles rankings at No. 124 in the Feb. 16 ITA polls.
Manashirova continued her winning ways against Penn State and Syracuse after a strong showing at the ITA Kick-Off event in Tallahassee, Fla., as she notched a pair of singles victories, including an upset of 61st-ranked Sun Wen of Texas A&M. The California native is 7-0 in singles in 2012 and leads the team with 10 victories.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Buckeyes have won their last five and 13 of 15 home contests, dating back to last season. The team finished 10-2 at home in 2011.
MERZBACHER’S WINNING WAYS
?Coming into the match against Tennessee, Ohio State head coach Chuck Merzbacher has recorded 598 matches in his career as a collegiate head coach, spanning back to his first season with Northern Illinois in the 1989-90 season. In those 598 matches, he has collected 360 wins with a win percentage higher than 60 percent. Merzbacher has been at the helm for the Buckeyes in 402 matches, dating back to the 1996-97 season. With Ohio State, Merzbacher has achieved a .565 winning percentage on the way to a program-record 227 victories.
?
POLLING ?
Ohio State moved to 64th Feb. 16 after landing at No. 55 in the preseason polls of 2012, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. This was the fifth-consecutive season the Scarlet and Gray were included in the preseason polls.
Recent Ohio State Preseason Rankings:
?2012 – 55th ?
2011 – 33rd
?2010 – 38th
?2009 – 32nd
?2008 – 52nd
SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME?
Eleven of Ohio State’s remaining 2012 opponents were ranked in the Feb. 16 Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls. Led by conference foes Northwestern and Michigan at ninth and 11th, respectively, six Big Ten rivals found a place in the Top 75. The Buckeyes’ schedule also features a trio of ranked teams from the Southeastern Conference, including 10th-ranked Tennessee, 30th-ranked Arkansas and 72nd-ranked LSU.?
Northwestern – 9th?
Tennessee – 10th
Michigan – 11th
Florida State – 22nd?
Nebraska – 28th?
Arkansas – 30th
Purdue – 41st
?Illinois – 57th
Wisconsin – 70th
DePaul – 71st
LSU – 72nd
OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
?The Buckeyes are now 12-4 in home openers under the direction of 16th-year head coach Chuck Merzbacher after defeating West Virginia Jan. 21, 7-0.
BUCKEYES GO PINK
?Ohio State “went pink” in its matches against West Virginia and Dayton Jan. 21 by hosting festivities in an effort to raise money for the Stefanie Spielman Fund. Courtside tables were available for rent, an Ohio State tennis racquet raffle was held, Phi Sigma Rho hosted a bake sale and t-shirts, pom poms, ribbons, posters and temporary tattoos were given away to fans.
The event raised $476.12 toward the Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research, topping the 2011 total of $445. More information about the Spielman Fund can be found here: http://go.osu.edu/SpielmanFund.
