With roughly half of its schedule complete, the Ohio State women’s tennis team has some work to do.

The No. 43 Buckeyes (7-6, 1-0) hold their lowest ranking of the season, and will likely need to climb the rankings during Big Ten play in order to qualify for the NCAA tournament in May. Their first chance to do so will come on Friday, when they host No. 75 Purdue at the Ohio State Varsity Tennis Center at 4 p.m.

With just one non-conference match remaining on the schedule, the Buckeyes’ NCAA tournament chances will likely be determined by how they perform in Big Ten play.

“I think the team is ready,” coach Chuck Merzbacher said. “That’s why we’ve played a rough schedule, to be ready for the Big Ten.”

Ohio State’s schedule has included 11 ranked opponents to this point, and eight of the teams they will meet in conference play are currently ranked.

“We definitely had some opportunities to slam dunk us into the Top-20,” Merzbacher said. “The team knows they are still in the mix to meet all of our goals.”

The Boilermakers have won two of their last three matches and entered the rankings this week for the first time this season. Four of Purdue’s seven players are freshman.

Friday’s match against Purdue will be the last for the Buckeyes before a 10-day break for final exams.

“I think everyone is excited with this being the last week of school here,” Merzbacher said. “We definitely want to protect home court.”

After playing a brutal non-conference schedule, Merzbacher says he hopes the experience will pay off for the team.

“They are very schedule-tested,” Merzbacher said. “We’re battling and the girls are working hard and playing hard.”

After breaking for finals, the Buckeyes will travel to Las Vegas, where they will play their final non-conference match of the season against Utah on March 23.


Mark Stetson can be reached at [email protected].