Buckeyes Ranked No. 33 in Opening ITA Poll – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 6, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s tennis team is ranked No. 33 in the opening poll released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Tuesday afternoon. Two Buckeye freshmen earned singles rankings in the first ITA poll of the spring season, while the sophomore duo of Gabriella De Santis and Sandy Niehaus also garnered a spot, checking in at No. 26.
The Buckeyes are one of seven ranked teams from the Big Ten, including Michigan (16), Northwestern (17), Purdue (42), Illinois (48), Indiana (51) and Maryland (69). Ohio State, which ended last season ranked as No. 37 in the final ITA poll, will face 13 teams ranked in the preseason poll this season.
The sophomore tandem of De Santis and Niehaus earned the No. 26 spot in the ITA doubles ranking. The duo went 7-3 in the fall, including a quarterfinal run at the 2014 USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Oct. 17-19. The pair also advanced to the main draw of the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships Oct. 1, becoming the first doubles team to represent Ohio State in the main draw of the championship since Monica Rincon and Erica Fisk in 2001.
Freshman Olivia Sneed leads the Buckeyes with a singles ranking of No. 71 in the ITA poll. She tallied a 7-0 record in the fall, competing at the Tennessee Fall Invite and the Baylor Invitational. Westerville, Ohio, native Anna Sanford is ranked No. 86 in the singles poll after recording an 8-1 record in the fall.
The Buckeyes are set to open the spring season at home with a doubleheader vs. West Virginia and Cleveland State Jan. 29 at the Varsity Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio.
