Friday, 01/20/2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 55th-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) hosts West Virginia (0-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the first of two matches inside the Ohio State University Varsity Tennis Center (880 Henderson Road). The Buckeyes take on Dayton (0-0) at 6 p.m.

Admission to all regular season home matches is free.

FOLLOW ALONG
If you can’t make it to the matches Saturday, stay connected with the Buckeyes on Twitter @OhioState_WTEN or on Facebook at facebook.com/OhioStateWomensTennis.

Live scoring will be available on OhioStateBuckeyes.com by following this link: http://go.osu.edu/WTENlive

BUCKEYES GO PINK
Ohio State’s annual “Buckeyes Go Pink” fundraiser takes place during the matches Saturday. Festivities include a Register to Win opportunity for a Buckeye Basket, a bake sale, a raffle for an Ohio State racquet and free ribbons and pom poms for all fans. There will also be a donation box with proceeds going toward the Stefanie Spielman Fund, which raises money to support breast cancer patients and research.

Last year, the Buckeyes’ event at the Ohio State Varsity Tennis Center drew more than 370 fans and raised $445 for the Spielman Fund. More information about the Spielman Fund can be found here: http://go.osu.edu/SpielmanFund.

ON DECK FOR OHIO STATE
Following the matches against West Virginia and Dayton, the Buckeyes will travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to take part in the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Ohio State will face host Florida State at 2 p.m. Jan. 28 before facing either Texas A&M or Mississippi the following day.

Ohio State returns home Feb. 4 to face off against Syracuse inside the Varsity Tennis Center. The match is set for a noon start.

WEST VIRGINIA AT A GLANCE
The match against the Buckeyes is the first for the Mountaineers this season. West Virginia finished 8-14 in 2011, including a 4-7 Big East record. The team is led in singles by senior Veronica Cardenas and junior Emily Mathis, who finished with 16 and 19 victories a year ago, respectively.

THE MOUNTAINEERS-BUCKEYES SERIES
Ohio State is 13-0 all time against West Virginia. The Mountaineers and Buckeyes last squared off in Morgantown, W. Va., in 2007. The Scarlet and Gray proved victorious in a 7-0 whitewash.

A LOOK AT DAYTON
The Flyers finished 3-13 a season ago and look to start the 2012 slate strong against Ohio State. The young team, comprised of three freshmen and three sophomores, is led in experience by the second-year trio of Erin Filbrandt, Claire McNulty and Maureen Stevens. The three combined to post 11 singles wins a year ago. Former Buckeye Cami HUbbs is in her first year on the Flyers’ coaching staff.

THE FLYERS-BUCKEYES SERIES
The Buckeyes defeated Dayton in the two teams’ only meeting. Ohio State claimed a 7-0 victory at home over the Flyers in 2002.

OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
The Buckeyes are 11-4 in home openers under the direction of 16th-year head coach Chuck Merzbacher. Last year, Ohio State swept Cincinnati, 7-0, in its first match at home.

DOUBLE REPRESENTATION
The doubles duo of junior Kara Cecil and freshman Kelsey Dieters landed at No. 52 in the first Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings of 2012. The tandem closed the fall season with a 5-2 record after producing a quarterfinals run at the USTA/ITA Division I Midwest Regional Championships in October. Cecil and Dieters are ranked eighth in the Midwest Region rankings. Cecil is ranked 11th in singles in the first regional rankings of 2012, as well.

THE ROAD IS HARD
Ohio State opened its season on the road for the first time since defeating Marquette in Milwaukee, Wis., to begin the 2008 slate. The Buckeyes traveled to Tampa, Fla., last weekend to face 42nd-ranked South Florida. The Bulls proved victorious, 6-1, to give Ohio State its first season-opening loss since dropping a 6-1 decision to Notre Dame in 2005.

MERZBACHER’S WINNING WAYS
Coming into the match against West Virginia, Ohio State head coach Chuck Merzbacher has recorded 592 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 592 matches, he has collected 357 wins with a win percentage over 60 percent. Merzbacher has been at the helm for the Buckeyes in 395 matches, dating back to the 1996-97 season. With Ohio State, Merzbacher has achieved a .566 winning percentage on the way to a program-record 171 victories.

POLLING IN THE PAST
Ohio State landed at No. 55 in the first polls of 2012, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The rankings, released Jan. 3, serve as a preseason notice before the first regular season rankings are available Jan. 24. This is the fifth-consecutive season the Scarlet and Gray have been included in the preseason polls.

2012 – 55th
2011 – 33rd
2010 – 38th
2009 – 32nd
2008 – 52nd

SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
Eleven of Ohio State’s potential 2012 opponents (OSU will face either Mississippi or Texas A&M on the second day of the ITA Kickoff Weekend) are ranked in the first poll of the year. Led by foes Michigan and Northwestern at 10th and 12th, respectively, five Big Ten rivals found a place in the Top 75 to begin the season. The Buckeyes’ schedule also features three ranked teams from the Southeastern Conference, including 18th-ranked Tennessee and 24th-ranked Arkansas.

Michigan – 10th
Northwestern – 12th
Florida State – 17th
Tennessee – 18th
Arkansas – 24th
Texas A&M – 29th
Mississippi – 37th
Nebraska – 39th
Purdue – 61st
LSU – 65th
Illinois – 69th

A LOOK BACK AT THE FALL
Ohio State opened its fall slate by hosting the Muirfield Collegiate Tennis Invitational at the Country Club at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, Sept. 16-18. The Buckeyes combined to post 15 victories, including 11 singles wins. Dieters earned her first collegiate victory against Claire McNulty of Dayton at the event. Dieters and Cecil also notched an upset of 60th-ranked Fellerhoff and Shine from Louisville in doubles consolation action.

Noelle Malley led the Buckeyes in action at the Martha Thorn Invitational hosted by West Virginia Oct. 7-9. The sophomore scored four singles victories to take home the Flight A singles title, capped off by a win over WVU’s Emily Mathis in the championship match. The performance earned Malley Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors Oct. 12, the first of her career.

The Buckeyes followed up as hosts of the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional. Tiffany Dittmer notched a pair of victories to earn a berth into main draw singles, while Cecil and Gabby Steele both reached the Round of 16 before falling to opponents from Notre Dame and DePaul. Cecil teamed with Dieters to reach the doubles quarterfinals, as well.

Ohio State closed the fall with a trip to Tempe, Ariz., for the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational Nov. 4-6. The team tallied six singles victories and four doubles wins at the event, which featured competition from fellow Big Ten schools Michigan and Northwestern.

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