In his second year at Ohio State, head women’s tennis coach Chuck Merzbacher has coached his Buckeyes to a 2-0 start.”We accomplished our goals for the whole day and played an aggressive style of tennis,” Merzbacher said. “You never know what will happen in the first match of the season and we started off exceptionally strong and focused.”The Buckeyes defeated DePaul 6-1 and trounced Bowing Green 7-0 on Sunday in Jesse Owens West.OSU’s all-time record against DePaul is now 3-0 and OSU’s all-time record against Bowling Green has improved to 20-0.”The girls played extremely match-tough, especially on big points, ” Merzbacher said. “They played as a cohesive unit with great spirit and energy.” In her debut, freshman Cara Whittingham from Glen Waverly, Australia, played and won her first two collegiate matches ever. Whittingham defeated Jenny Cheung of Bowling Green, 6-1, 6-3, and Amy Slavicek of DePaul, 6-3, 6-2.”I was so nervous for my first match and there was so much support from the girls helping me through it,” Whittingham said. “Coach Merzbacher, who is tremendous, has also helped me greatly with my tennis skills and in adjusting to a new country.”First singles player Kristy Dascoli, a freshman from Bradenton, Fla., defeated Deidre Bissinger of Bowling Green, 6-1, 6-0, and Klara Salopek of DePaul 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.”I think we did really well,” Dascoli said. “We knew DePaul would be tough and a couple of us even went to three sets.” Freshman Briana Harris, also from Bradenton, Fla., playing third singles defeated Bowling Green’s Erika Wasilewski 6-2, 6-0, but lost playing second singles to DePaul’s Nives Milosevic 6-1, 6-4.Number one doubles duo Dascoli and Harris also won their first two regular season doubles matches, improving their overall record to 6-5.Friday, the Buckeyes leave to play at 12th-ranked Tennessee.”It’s going to be a tough match,” Dascoli said. “All we can do is practice.”The team is excited about the opportunity to play a tough team like Tennessee, Merzbacher said.”We want to put the pressure on our opponents and see how we match up,” Merzbacher said.