COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sydni Ratliff has been named the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Freshman of the Year, while Isabelle Boulais and Irina Cantos Siemers were named to the All-Big Ten Team, the conference announced Wednesday. The awards were voted on by the 14 league head coaches. In addition, Kolie Allen received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for Ohio State.
Ratliff is the sixth Buckeye to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year accolades and the fifth since 2014. Boulais, the conference freshman of the year in 2019, is now a three-time All-Big Ten honoree (2019, ’21, ’22) and Cantos earned all-conference accolades for the second year in a row.
The trio was selected for the NCAA individual championships earlier this week. Cantos Siemers and Boulais are in the singles draw, with Ratliff a singles alternate, and the doubles tandem of Cantos Siemers and Ratliff earned the Big Ten’s automatic berth.
Ratliff, from Columbus, Ohio, and a Columbus Academy graduate, is ranked 67th by the ITA in singles this week and has been as high as No. 43. She has notched a 26-10 singles record in her first collegiate season and has a 16-6 dual record, with an 8-2 mark during the conference regular season. In doubles, Ratliff is second on the team with a 24-16 overall record, going 12-9 in dual matches, with five wins in league action.
Cantos Siemers and Ratliff, who won the ITA Midwest Regional championship in the fall, have compiled a 15-6 record on the year, with a 7-3 ledger in dual matches. The tandem is currently ranked 43rd and has reached a high of No. 15.
Cantos Siemers, a junior from Bremerhaven, Germany, is currently No. 13 in the ITA singles rankings and has been as high as No. 4 this year, spending all season in the Top 15. She leads the Buckeyes with a 33-9 overall record, the fifth-most wins in a single season in program history, and is 18-4 in dual matches, including a 10-0 mark in Big Ten regular season play. She was 9-1 in doubles in Big Ten action and has a 16-7 dual record in doubles, leading the Buckeyes with 25 doubles wins overall. Cantos Siemers, who is also ranked in doubles with Luna Dormet, earned All-America honors a season ago.
A senior and native of Mississauga, Ontario, Boulais is ranked 41st in singles this week and has been as high as 19th this year, the fifth Buckeye to earn a spot in the ITA Top 20. She is 17-10 overall this season and has a 14-6 mark in dual matches, going 7-2 in conference matches. In doubles, Boulais has recorded a 21-9 overall mark, posting a 14-7 record in dual play. She is the seventh Buckeye to earn three or more All-Big Ten honors.
Allen, from Lombard, Ill., also received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award in 2020. She has a 16-11 overall ledger this season, with a 12-6 dual mark. In doubles, she has recorded 15 wins overall, with nine in dual matches.
The Buckeyes are the No. 10 seed in the NCAA team championship and will host first and second round matches this weekend. Saturday, Xavier and Vanderbilt will meet at 10 a.m., followed by Ohio State and Illinois State at 1 p.m. The winners will meet at noon Sunday for a spot in the Round of 16.
Matches are set to be played outside at the Auer Tennis Complex. In the event of inclement weather, play could be moved inside the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. Check OhioStateBuckeyes.com and the Ohio State women’s tennis social media accounts on match day for location information. Admission and parking will be free for all NCAA matches in Columbus. Live scoring and video, through the Tennis One app, will be available for all matches.
