Buckeye Cantos Siemers Named B1G Athlete of the Week
3/30/2021 2:23:53 PM | Women's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After going 4-0 in singles and doubles combined in two road wins, sophomore Irina Cantos Siemers of the No. 5 Ohio State women’s tennis team has been named the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.
Cantos Siemers, who was ranked No. 15 last week in singles, was 2-0 in singles, with both clinching points, and doubles as the Buckeyes posted road wins at Michigan State (6-1) and Michigan (4-3).
Against the Spartans, Cantos Siemers and Luna Dormet notched the first doubles win on court three as Ohio State went on to clinch the doubles point. The native of Barcelona, Spain, clinched the team win over Michigan State with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Samantha Memije on court two.
Against the Wolverines, Cantos Siemers and Dormet tied doubles at one, with Ohio State going on to win the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead. In singles, Cantos Siemers rallied to clinch the team win with a three-set victory over No. 38-ranked Kari Miller on court one, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. In the third set, Cantos got an early break (2-1) and led the rest of the way, serving out a 6-4 third set win. When the Buckeyes and Wolverines met in Columbus in February, the match also came down to Cantos Siemers and Miller on court one, with Miller clinching a 4-3 UM win with a third set tiebreaker victory.
Cantos Siemers has a 13-4 dual record this spring and is 10-3 vs. conference foes, sharing the team overall wins lead with 16. This week she moved to a career-best 10th in the ITA rankings in singles and she and Dormet entered the doubles rankings at No. 80. This is the second Big Ten weekly award of the season for Cantos Siemers.
After a bye this weekend, the Buckeyes (15-3, 12-1 B1G) close the regular season with three straight home matches. The squad will host Minnesota April 9 and Wisconsin April 11, with both matches at noon. The regular season finale is set for 10 a.m. April 17 vs. Penn State. All three matches are slated to be played outdoors at the Auer Tennis Complex.
