No. 25 Buckeyes Defeat No. 24 Wake Forest in ITA Kickoff Opener

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 25-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team opened its season with a 4-0 win over No. 24 Wake Forest in the first round of ITA Kickoff Weekend in Stillwater, Okla. The Buckeyes will take on host No. 10 Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. ET Sunday for a spot at ITA National Indoors. (Video | Live Scoring)

Against the Demon Deacons, the Buckeyes claimed the doubles point with wins over ranked teams on courts three and one. The tandem of Kolie Allen and Isabelle Boulais downed the No. 10-ranked team from Wake Forest, winning in a tiebreak to clinch the point, along with a victory from Kathleen Jones and Danielle Wolf over the No. 46-ranked duo, for the 1-0 Buckeye lead. Mary Beth Hurley and Shiori Fukuda pushed the lead to 3-0 before Boulais clinched the team victory.

Quoting Coach Melissa Schaub

“It was a really solid match today – a total team effort and that’s always what you are looking for to start the season. We knew Wake Forest was going to be tough. I’m really proud of the effort we gave. Everyone stayed in there and competed hard. For Isabelle to clinch the match the way she did – breaking at 5-all and then serving it out – was unbelievable,. That’s not an easy thing to do. We have to get ready for tomorrow. This isn’t an easy place to come play and we need to be ready.”

Quoting Buckeye sophomore Isabelle Boulais

“It was a massive team effort from everyone today. I’m so proud of the whole team – everyone fighting on and off the court. We’ve been working really hard this fall and leading up to this match so it’s great to see our hard work start to pay off. We are definitely happy about our win today but we’re not done yet.”

In Doubles

• The tandem of senior Danielle Wolf and redshirt freshman Kathleen Jones was off court first, with a 6-4 win over No. 46-ranked Anna Brylin and Carolyn Campana.
• The Demon Deacons tied doubles with a 6-4 win of their own on court two.
• On court one, the Buckeye duo of sophomores Kolie Allen and Isabelle Boulais prevailed in a tiebreaker over No. 10-ranked Eliza Omirou and MC Meredith,7-6 (4).

In Singles

• Junior Mary Beth Hurley put the Buckeyes up 2-0, winning 6-2, 6-2, over Alexis Franco on court six.
• In a matchup of ranked players, No. 11-ranked Shiori Fukuda prevailed over No. 44 Carolyn Campana on court one, 6-2, 6-4, for a 3-0 Ohio State advantage.
• Boulais clinched Ohio State’s team victory on court three. She captured the last three games in the first set for a 7-5 win. In the second, she broke at five-all and then served out the set to clinch her victory over Saby Nihalani and the team win for the Buckeyes.

The Results
Wake Forest vs Ohio State
Jan 25, 2020 at Stillwater, Okla.
#25 Ohio State 4, #24 Wake Forest 0

Singles competition

1. #11 Shiori Fukuda (OSU) def. #44 Carolyn Campana (WFU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Danielle Wolf (OSU) vs. Eliza Omirou (WFU) 7-6, 2-5, unfinished
3. Isabelle Boulais (OSU) def. Saby Nihalani (WFU) 7-5, 7-5
4. #125 Kolie Allen (OSU) vs. #82 Anna Campana (WFU) 5-7, 5-2, unfinished
5. #58 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) vs. Chandler Carter (WFU) 5-7, 5-5, unfinished
6. Mary Beth Hurley (OSU) def. Alexis Franco (WFU) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. Isabelle Boulais/Kolie Allen (OSU) def. #10 Eliza Omirou/MC Meredith (WFU) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Chandler Carter/Carolyn Campana (WFU) def. Shiori Fukuda/Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) 6-4
3. Kathleen Jones/Danielle Wolf (OSU) def. #46 Anna Brylin/Saby Nihalani (WFU) 6-4

Match Notes:
Wake Forest 2-1; National ranking #24
Ohio State 1-0; National ranking #25
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,1,3)
ITA Kickoff Weekend, round 1