COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sophomore Sydni Ratliff led the Ohio State women’s tennis team at the 2022 ITA Midwest Regional Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Columbus native and Columbus Academy graduate finished as the singles runner-up, falling in a third set tiebreaker in the final Tuesday.
Singles Final (Tuesday)
The singles title came down to No. 3-4 seeds Sydni Ratliff of Ohio State, ranked 51st, and Michigan’s Jaedan Brown, ranked 60th.
Ratliff won the first set, 6-4. She broke with Brown serving 3-4 and held for a 5-3 advantage, eventually serving it out. Brown took the second set, 6-2, to send the match to a third set.
In the third, Brown jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Ratliff battled back to take the next three games and get back on serve (3-4), breaking at love at 2-4. Brown answered with a break of her own, winning on the deuce point for a 5-3 lead. Another break followed and Ratliff consolidated the break to deadlock the match at 5-all. Ratliff took a 6-5 lead with the next game but Brown broke back to send the match to a tiebreak.
In the tiebreak, Brown won the first four points, with Ratliff winning the next three for a 4-3 breaker. The Wolverine took the next two, followed by a point for Ratliff for a 6-4 score. Brown claimed the next point for the match and title.
Singles Semifinals (Monday)
Sydni Ratliff, a No. 3-4 seed, reached the final with a straight-set win over Wisconsin’s Alina Mukhortova. Ratliff won the final four games to take the first set, 6-3, and then won the second, 6-2, after jumping out to a 4-0 lead.
🔥 Sydni Ratliff is on to the singles final at @ITA_Tennis Midwest Regionals!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/S6H5YfAjEW
— Ohio State Women’s Tennis (@OhioStateWTEN) October 24, 2022
Singles Quarterfinals (Sunday)
Sydni Ratliff, a No. 3-4 seed, posted a straight-set win to defeat Northwestern’s Christina Hand and advance to the semifinals. The Buckeye sophomore broke with Hand serving 5-6 to take the first set, 7-5. Ratliff jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set. Hand drew to 3-2, but Ratliff won the final three games to clinch the set, 6-2, and win the match.
With a straight set win, Sydni Ratliff is on to the semifinals at @ITA_Tennis regionals! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/W9DxPz3KpB
— Ohio State Women’s Tennis (@OhioStateWTEN) October 23, 2022
Doubles Quarterfinals (Sunday)
Irina Cantos Siemers and Sydni Ratliff, the defending Midwest region champions and No. 2 seed this season, lost to Northwestern’s Justine Leong and Christina Hand (NU), 8-3, in the quarterfinals.
Singles Second & Third Rounds (Saturday)
Sydni Ratliff advanced to the quarterfinals with two wins Saturday. In the second round she prevailed in a third set tiebreaker over Gala Mesochoritou of Michigan. In the third round, Ratliff was a straight-set winner against Illinois’ Kasia Treiber.
Kolie Allen and Irina Cantos Siemers both posted second-round victories but were eliminated in the next round. Shelly Bereznyak and Danielle Willson both fell in the second round.
Doubles Round of 16 (Saturday)
Irina Cantos Siemers and Sydni Ratliff, the defending Midwest region champions, advanced to the quarterfinals with an 8-2 win over aNotre Dame duo.
The Buckeye duo of Shelly Bereznyak and Akanksha Bhan fell in the Round of 16 to the No. 1 seed from Notre Dame, No. 8-ranked Maria Olivia Castedo and Page Freeman, 8-6.
Singles First Round (Friday)
Competing in main draw singles for the Buckeyes were No. 2 seed Irina Cantos Siemers, No. 3-4 seed Sydni Ratliff, Kolie Allen, Madelie Atway, Shelly Bereznyak, Danielle Willson and Lucia Marzal, with Willson and Atway earning their spots through qualifying.
The Buckeyes posted five first-round wins, highlighted by Allen’s straight-set victory over No. 1 seed Kari Miller of Michigan. Cantos Siemers, Ratliff, Bereznyak and Willson also posted straight-set victories.
Doubles First and Second Rounds (Friday)
Ohio State had five doubles teams in the 64-doubles draw – No. 2 seed Irina Cantos Siemers and Sydni Ratliff, along with the duos of Akanksha Bhan and Shelly Bereznyak, Kathleen Jones and Kolie Allen, Madeline Atway and Danielle Willson and Lucia Marzal and Dani Schoenly.
Cantos Siemers and Ratliff had a first-round bye and then defeated a team from Wisconsin in the second round, 8-3. Bereznyak and Bhan also had a first-round bye. The duo then topped a team from DePaul in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (1) to reach the third round. Marzal and Schoenly were first-round winners vs. Valpo, but fell in the second round to a team from Northwestern.
Qualifying Singles (Thursday)
Madeline Atway and Danielle Willson both earned a spot in the main draw after two wins in qualifying. Wilson did not drop a set, while Atway prevailed in a third set in the second round.
ITA Midwest Regional
Oct. 20-25, 2022
Varsity Tennis Center – Ann Arbor, Mich.
Ohio State Results
Qualifying Singles (Thursday, Oct. 20)
R1: Danielle Willson (OSU) def. Lili Minich (YSU), 6-1, 7-5
R2: Danielle Willson (OSU) def. Moira Silva (Valpo), 6-2, 6-1
R1: Madeline Atway (OSU) def. Vidisha Pallamreddy (EMU), 6-2, 6-2
R2: Madeline Atway (OSU) def. Eleanor Nobbs (DePaul), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
R1: Valentina Martin (DePaul) def. Kathleen Jones (OSU), 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
Doubles First and Second Rounds (Friday, Oct. 21)
R64: No. 2 seed/No. 24 Irina Cantos Siemers/Sydni Ratliff (OSU), BYE
R32: No. 2 seed/No. 24 Irina Cantos Siemers/Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Sholokova/Markham (UW), 8-3
R64: Shelly Bereznyak/Akanksha Bhan (OSU), BYE
R32: Shelly Bereznyak/Akanksha Bhan (OSU) def. Carbone/Smith (DePaul), 8-7 (1)
R64: Ghosh/Andreach (ND) def. Kathleen Jones/Kolie Allen (OSU), 8-4
R64: Matsuno/Pozder (ND) def. Madeline Atway/Danielle Willson (OSU), 8-4
R64: Lucia Marzal/Dani Schoenly (OSU) def. Czerwonka/Silva (Valpo), 8-5
R32: Ch. Hand/Leong (NU) def. Lucia Marzal/Dani Schoenly (OSU), 8-2
Doubles Round of 16 (Saturday, Oct. 22)
R16: No. 2 seed Irina Cantos Siemers/Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Yashna Yellayi/Rylie Hanford (ND), 8-2
R16: No. 1 seed (#8) Maria Olivia Castedo/Page Freeman (ND) def. Shelly Bereznyak/Akanksha Bhan, 8-6
Doubles Quarterfinals (Sunday, Oct. 23)
QF: Justine Leong/Christina Hand (NU) def. No. 2 seed (#24) Irina Cantos Siemers/Sydni Ratliff (OSU), 8-3
Singles
Singles First Round (Friday, Oct. 21)
R64: No. 2 seed (#10) Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) def. Anastasia Rakita (NIU), 6-2, 6-0
R64: No. 3-4 seed (#51) Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Briana Crowley (NU), 6-0, 6-2
R64: No. 9-16 seed Shelly Bereznyak (OSU) def. Agnes Gustafsson (UIC), 6-0, 6-0
R64: Kolie Allen (OSU) def. No. 1 seed (#17) Kari Miller (UM), 7-5, 6-3
R64: Danielle Willson (OSU) def. Oihane Vicario (CSU), 6-3, 6-2
R64: No. 9-16 seed (#125) Julia Fliegner (UM) def. Madeline Atway (OSU), 6-3, 6-3
R64: Cassie Alcala (TOL) def. Lucia Marzal (OSU), 6-4, 6-4
Singles Second & Third Rounds (Saturday, Oct. 22)
R32: No. 3-4 seed (#51) Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Gala Mesochoritou (UM), 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3)
R16: No. 3-4 seed (#51) Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Kasia Treiber (ILL), 6-0, 6-4
R32: Kolie Allen (OSU) def. Nevena Kolarevich (Ill. St.), 6-0, 7-6 (4)
R16: No. 9-16 Alina Mukhortova (UW) def. Kolie Allen (OSU), 6-4, 6-4
R32: No. 2 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) def. (No. 114) Andrea Cerdan (UM), 6-2, 7-5
R16: Maria Sholokhova (UW) def. No. 2 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU), 7-6 (4), 6-2
R32: Taylor Cataldi (UW) def. No. 9-16 seed Shelly Berezynak (OSU), 2-6, 7-5, 6-3
R32: No. 3-4 seed (#60) Jaedan Brown (UM) def. Danielle Willson (OSU), 6-2, 6-2
Singles Quarterfinals (Sunday, Oct. 23)
QF: No. 3-4 seed (#51) Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Christina Hand (NU), 7-5, 6-2
Singles Semifinals (Monday, Oct. 24)
SF: No. 3-4 seed (#51) Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Alina Mukhortova (UW), 6-3, 6-2
Singles Final (Tuesday, Oct. 25)
F: No. 3-4 seed (#60) Jaeden Brown (UM) def. No. 3-4 seed (#51) Sydni Ratliff (OSU), 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4)
Consolation Singles
Lucia Marzal (OSU) d. Rylie Hanford (ND), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 1-0 (4)
Madeline Atway (OSU) d. Yashna Yellayi (ND), 6-3, 7-5
Isabella Righi (NIU) d. Kathleen Jones (OSU), 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10)
