Buckeyes Earn Preseason Rankings and Spots in Riviera/ITA All-American Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 8, 2014
RELATED INFO
- ITA Preseason Rankings
- 2014-15 Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships Selections
- 2015 Ohio State Women’s Tennis Schedule
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Four members of the Ohio State women’s tennis team earned rankings in the first preseason poll of the 2014-15 season, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced Monday. Several Buckeyes were also selected to compete in the 2014 Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships in prequalifying singles and qualifying doubles.
Reigning B1G Freshman of the Year Gabriella De Santis checked in at the No. 69 spot in the ITA singles preseason poll, while fellow sophomores Sandy Niehaus and Miho Kowase were tabbed at No. 120 and No. 124, respectively.
Last season, De Santis, the ITA Midwest Rookie Player of the Year, collected a team-high nine wins vs. conference opponents and finished the season with a 21-12 overall record, including 13 wins on court one in the spring. Niehaus, a second-team all-conference performer, led the Buckeye squad with 31 overall wins, ranking second in program history for the most singles win in a season. Kowase, who was a first-team All-Big Ten selection, posted 25 wins last season to help lead the Buckeyes to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2010.
In the ITA doubles rankings, De Santis and Niehaus earned the No. 32 ranking, while sophomore Ferny Angeles Paz and Kowase team up to form the 54th-ranked doubles tandem.
This summer, both Buckeye duos found success in the ITA summer circuit. De Santis and Niehaus, who led the squad with 19 wins and a 7-0 B1G record in their freshman season, captured the 2014 ITA Midwest Summer Circuit doubles championship at Purdue July 7, while Angeles Paz and Kowase defeated their teammates in the finals of the championship hosted at Indiana, 8-6, on July 29. In 2014, Angeles Paz and Kowase also went undefeated vs. B1G competition, 7-0, and concluded their first season with a 15-2 record.
Along with the preseason rankings announcement, the ITA also released the field for the 2014 Riveria/ITA Women’s All-American Championships. Placed as the No. 3 alternate, De Santis will join Niehaus and Kowase in the prequalifying singles draw as well as compete with Niehaus in the doubles qualifier. The event, hosted by UCLA, is set to begin September 27 in Pacific Palisades, California.
The Buckeyes start the fall campaign Sept. 22 at the Amelia Island 10K in Amelia Island, Florida before moving on to the 2014 Riveria/ITA Women’s All-American Championships Sept. 27.
Preseason ITA Rankings, released Sept. 8, 2014
Singles Rankings
69. Gabriella De Santis
120. Sandy Niehaus
124. Miho Kowase
ITA Doubles Rankings
32. Gabriella De Santis and Sandy Niehaus
54. Ferny Angeles Paz and Miho Kowase
Riviera/ITA Women’s All American Championships
September 27, 2014
Pacific Palisades, California
Prequalifying Singles
Gabriella De Santis (also listed as No. 3 alternate)
Sandy Niehaus
Miho Kowase
Qualifying Doubles
Gabriella De Santis and Sandy Niehaus
