The Ohio State Women’s Tennis team huddles up before the Ohio State-Vanderbilt NCAA Tournament match on May 8. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Despite entering Sunday on a 15-match winning streak, the Longhorns were just too much for the Buckeyes.
No. 15 Ohio State (23-4, 15-1) lost 4-1 to No. 2 Texas (28-1, 9-0) in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament in Orlando, Florida, as the Buckeyes’ longest postseason run since 2017 came to an end.
The Buckeyes’ only match victory of the day came on the first singles court where No. 18 sophomore Irina Cantos Siemers prevailed over No. 37 freshman Peyton Stearns in straight sets.
The Barcelona, Spain, native won the first set 6-2, then dominated the second set 6-0, leaving Stearns — a Mason, Ohio, product — visibly frustrated in her seventh singles loss of the season.
Texas claimed the doubles point for the 26th time in 28 tries this season behind strong performances from its two ranked duos on Courts 1 and 3.
Ohio State’s No. 52 team of juniors Kolie Allen and Isabelle Boulais lost their third match of the year and first since March 28 against Michigan. They were dominated between the lines by Texas’ No. 19 pair of freshmen Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun, losing 6-0 for the first time in the tandem’s 24-match career together.
The Longhorns completed their pursuit of the doubles point with the No. 47 pair of Stearns and freshman Charlotte Chavatipon’s victory over Ohio State’s No. 80 team of Cantos Siemers and senior Luna Dormet.
On the singles end, the Buckeyes were simply overmatched as Texas’ No. 1 through 5 are all ranked in the ITA top 125.
The second Texas team point of the match came on Court 3 where No. 62 Sun extended her winning streak to 14 consecutive matches heading into the quarterfinals, defeating Allen 6-1, 6-1.
Then on Court 4, No. 76 Chavatipon looked to be falling apart when it was 5-4 in the second set and Ohio State graduate Lisa Hofbauer was mounting a comeback. Chavatipon found herself deadlocked 40-40, but won the point and tossed her racquet in the air in celebration as the Longhorns took a commanding 3-1 lead.
The Fullerton, California, native’s victory pushed her singles winning streak to 16 games heading into the quarterfinals, tying freshman Malaika Rapolu for the longest active streak on the team.
The Buckeyes did not go quietly, though, fighting back to make the match closer than the scoreboard suggested.
On Courts 5 and 6, redshirt sophomore Lucia Marzal and Dormet both carried their matches into the third set before both went unfinished.
On Court 2, Boulais battled to break the game to 5-5 after rallying facing match point, but the next two sets belonged to Texas’ No. 35 senior Anna Turati to secure the match victory 6-1, 7-5.
The Barzano, Italy, native served, Boulais returned with a strong forehand that clipped the tape that lines the top of the net, then the two both attempted back-and-forth drop shots — Turati’s landed, Boulais’ did not.
Turati threw her arms in the air before being mobbed by her teammates, and Boulais dropped her head in defeat as her four-match winning streak and junior season came to a disappointing end.
Texas advances to the quarterfinals to face No. 7 Florida State who defeated No. 10 Texas A&M 4-2 Sunday.
