Ohio State University Team Page

This Week
Three Buckeyes, junior Paloma Escobedo, senior Christina Keesey and freshman Kara Cecil, will be competing in the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational this weekend in Tempe, Ariz. The Buckeyes will face some new competition in the form of players from Boise State, California, Arizona State and the University of San Diego. They will also meet a familiar foe, Michigan, who the Buckeyes have participated with in three tournaments already this fall season.

Play, which runs Friday through Monday, begins at 8:30 a.m. MT each day. There is a 32-player singles bracket with doubles pairings assigned each day. Results will be posted online at www.thesundevils.com at the conclusion of each round.

The tournament closes out the fall schedule for the Buckeyes. The team will return to the courts when it opens dual-match play Jan. 19, 2010 with a doubleheader vs. Xavier (2 p.m.) and Cleveland State (7 p.m.) at the Varsity Tennis Center in Columbus.

The Buckeye trio heading to Tempe has seen limited action this fall, competing in singles in only the ITA Midwest Regionals, with Keesey also playing in the ITA All-Americans in doubles. Escobedo enters the tournament 2-2 in singles this season and 1-1 in doubles. Keesey is 2-1 on the year in singles and 0-2 in doubles. Cecil lost her lone singles match and is 1-1 in doubles.

The Present and Past Connect
On Sunday, former and current Buckeyes faced off in a Scarlet and Gray format, with squads made up of half varsity players and half alumae. A total of 20 alumnae suited up for matches, including three from last year's varsity squad: Julie Voss, Julie Blackmore and Angela DiPastina. Others at the event included 80-year old Barbara Keller, Lindsay Adams, Erika Fisk, Emily Howard, Lindsay (Bryan) Bloom, Meaghan Colville, Brianna Harris, Katherine Martin, Ciara Finucane and Lindsay Williams.

Alumnae Weekend began with a reception and art installation at the Varsity Tennis Center. Jeff Sparr, a former member of the Buckeye men's tennis team, presented and signed a piece of art work he donated to the men's and women's tennis programs. The men's team put on a practice for the crowd to enjoy.

Click on the photo gallery above for more photos from the weekend.

Thrown Into the Fire
Two of the Buckeye freshmen, Gabby Steele and Fidan Manashirova, competed in a combined 16 singles matches heading into the Thunderbird Invitational. Manashirova was outstanding on her way to a team-best 7-1 record, while Steele nearly matched her at 6-2. Manashirova and Steele, respectively, led the team in singles wins.

Leading the Way
While Manashirova and Steele lead the team in singles victories so far, they also have joined to post the second-best team doubles record that stands at 3-1. The only duo to match their success is the combination of Hubbs and Haviland with a team-best 5-2 record.

As the Ohio State women's tennis team wraps up the fall schedule this weekend, take a look back at the Buckeyes' fall.

ITA All-American Championships
The Buckeyes sent three players to the ITA All-American Championships. Senior Kirsten Flower earned an impressive win over ranked Martina Pavelec of Wake Forest in the event. Junior Paloma Escobedo also notched a win over Texas Tech's Kelsy Garland. In doubles, Flower and fellow senior Christina Keesey fell to Nazari Urbina and Stephanie Davidson of Texas A&M.

Kentucky Invitational
Freshman Fidan Manashirova won her first flight title as a Buckeye at the Kentucky Invitational, facing off against Hannah Blatt of Vanderbilt in the final match and finishing with a 4-0 record. Manashirova was not the only Buckeye who was successful at the event. Fellow freshman Gabby Steele finished with a 3-1 record, advancing to the final match before falling to Alida Muller-Wehlau of Armstrong Atlantic State in the third set.

In doubles, Steele and Manashirova won out in the consolation bracket after dropping their first match. Junior Cami Hubbs and sophomore Kelsey Haviland followed in their footsteps, also winning out in their consolation bracket.

ITA Midwest Regional
Three Buckeyes, Manashirova, Steele and Haviland, advanced out of the qualifying bracket to bring OSU's total to seven players in main draw action at the ITA Midwest Regional. Flower advanced to the quarterfinals before being downed by finalist Kristy Frilling of Notre Dame. Frilling was then a part of the doubles team that eliminated the Ohio State duo of Hubbs and Haviland in the doubles quarterfinals.