Junior Lucia Marzal hits the tennis ball during the Ohio State-Michigan match Friday. Ohio State won 4-3. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
The No. 8 Buckeyes brought momentum with them into their match against Michigan State Sunday, defeating the Spartans 4-0 inside the Ty Tucker Tennis Center.
The win is the second of the weekend following a 4-3 victory Friday over No. 19 Michigan. Ohio State has yet to lose a conference match this season.
The Buckeyes (12-4, 5-0 Big Ten) fired on all cylinders against Michigan State (9-8, 1-5 Big Ten) in a matchup that saw the Spartans win a total of three sets, including doubles matches, against Ohio State. Head coach Melissa Schaub said she was pleased with the team’s performance.
“I think sometimes you put so much into the Michigan match on Friday that it’s a tough rebound to get ready to go on Sunday,” Schaub said. “I’m proud of the way we came out. I think our doubles is getting better so I feel good about that.”
Juniors Irina Cantos Siemers and Lucia Marzal set the tone early for the Buckeyes, knocking off their opponents senior Nicole Stephens and junior Tia Mukherjee 6-1.
Following suit was junior Kathleen Jones and freshman Sydni Ratliff, who claimed victory over sophomore Ayshe Can and freshman Charlotte Gisclon 6-3 to earn the doubles point for Ohio State. Seniors Isabelle Boulais and Kolie Allen also led graduate student Mary Lewis and senior Maja Pietrowicz 4-3 when their match ended.
Jones, who has competed in doubles matches since March 16 and hasn’t lost yet, said despite the big victory, the team still has more work to do.
“Obviously we are running for that title. We really want to be Big Ten champs and everything,” Jones said. “Making sure that we keep our foot on the gas pedal for that one and hoping that a lot of people come out to watch.”
With a 1-0 lead, the Buckeyes stormed into singles play, taking five-of-six first sets. It didn’t end there, however.
No. 26 Boulais struck first in singles, defeating Lewis 6-2, 6-3. Right on her tail was No. 8 Cantos Siemers, who notched a win over Pietrowicz 6-4, 6-1 to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 3-0. Ohio State only needed one more singles victory to win the match with four more still in play.
Of those four was No. 60 Ratliff facing off against Stephens.
A 6-3, 6-1 triumph put the match out of reach for Michigan State and sent the team on the road back to East Lansing. Marzal, Allen and sophomore Madeline Atway did not get a chance to see their matches end.
The Buckeyes will stay in Columbus for another home match Friday as they take on No. 37 Northwestern (10-5, 5-0 Big Ten) at 3 p.m.
