Ohio State freshman Sydni Ratliff ready to serve during the Buckeyes’ match against Oklahoma State Saturday at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. Ohio State won 4-1. Credit: Casey Smith | Assistant Lantern TV Sports Producer
No. 11 Ohio State defeated No. 20 Tennessee 4-0 Sunday at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center to guarantee a spot at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoor Championship.
The Buckeyes (2-2) moved to .500 after dropping their first two matches Jan. 21 and 23. With its victory over the Volunteers (3-1), Ohio State will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to compete in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the fourth consecutive year and sixth time in seven seasons. This is the team’s seventh appearance at the tournament, which will take place Feb. 11-14.
The team’s ability to remain positive and collected is what allowed them to get to this point, junior Irina Cantos Siemers said.
“We keep our routines the same,” Cantos Siemers said. “A big thing for us is our intensity in the warmup, and we did a really good job of that this weekend.”
In doubles, seniors Kolie Allen and Isabelle Boulais started with a 6-3 win over senior Rebeka Mertena and freshman Elza Tomase. The Buckeyes won five of the final six sets.
After a match that saw junior Lucia Marzal and graduate student Luna Dormet tie Tennessee sophomore duo Esther Adeshina and Eleonora Molinaro twice, the Buckeyes came away with the match 7-5.
In the last doubles match, No. 29 Cantos Siemers and freshman Sydni Ratliff got off to a cold start, falling behind 4-1 to senior Daria Kuczer and graduate student Tenika McGiffin. Kuczer and McGiffin led 5-3 before the Buckeye duo won the next four games and walked away with a 7-5 victory. This was the second day the Buckeyes claimed the duo point.
In singles play, No. 6 Cantos Siemers won her match 6-3, 6-3 over No. 41 McGiffin. No. 123 Ratliff won her second straight-set match of the weekend, defeating No. 56 Tomase 6-3, 6-3.
The upsets continued as Boulais earned her third Top 30 win of the dual season, knocking off No. 14 Mertena 6-3, 6-3. She remains a perfect 4-0 in singles play at dual matches this spring.
Head coach Melissa Schaub said she was more than proud of the team’s performance.
“It was probably our most complete match that we’ve played so far this season,” Schaub said. “Hopefully we’re going to keep getting better and better out there, but we’ve got some people playing really well.”
The Buckeyes will have the weekend off as they prepare for ITA National Team Indoor Championships Feb. 11-14.
