No. 31 Tennessee and No. 19 Georgia Tech Up Next for No. 27 Ohio State – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 12, 2015
RELATED INFO
• Live Scoring (UT)
• Live Scoring (GT)
• 2015 Ohio State Women’s Tennis Schedule
• Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook and Twitter
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 27 Ohio State women’s tennis team (3-2, 0-0 B1G) is slated to complete its nonconference road trip as it takes on No. 31 Tennessee and No. 19 Georgia Tech in road matches this weekend. The Buckeyes will play the Volunteers at 2 p.m. ET Friday before traveling to Atlanta, Georgia, to square off vs. the Yellow Jackets at noon Saturday.
DOWNLOAD GAMEDAY APP
?To access live scoring and live video links to all available home and away Ohio State matches this season, visit the women’s tennis schedule page on OhioStateBuckeyes.com or download OhioStateBuckeyes.com’s Gameday LIVE application for mobile devices. The live video uses Flash, so users should access the link on a computer to ensure the proper plug-ins are available to view the stream. Also, follow along for live match updates on Twitter.
?ITA RANKINGS UPDATE
?The Buckeyes, who have faced elite competition this spring, have jumped to No. 27 on ITA’s team rankings. It is the highest ranking for the Buckeyes since the 2009-10 season.
The sophomore tandem of Gabriella De Santis and Sandy Niehaus moved up to No. 25 in the double rankings. The duo is 2-2 this spring, including a win vs. Stanford’s sixth-ranked Taylor Davidson and Carol Zhao last weekend. In the singles poll, Niehaus checks in at No. 125. The Cincinnati, Ohio, product has compiled a 4-1 record on courts three and four this spring.
A LOOK AT THE VOLUNTEERS
?The two schools met earlier this season when the Buckeyes traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., for the Tennessee Fall Invite in the fall campaign. The Buckeyes went 2-1 in doubles and 3-2 in singles play vs. the Volunteers at the event.
Tennessee, the alma mater of Buckeye head coach Melissa Schaub, has two ranked doubles teams this spring: No. 30 Eve Repic and Laurence Guevremont as well as No. 36 Joanna Henderson and Caitlyn Williams. Tennessee has opened the season with a 6-1 overall ledger and a 4-0 home record at the Goodfriend Tennis Center. Their match vs. Ohio State will be the squad’s first spring action vs. ranked competition.
Ohio State is 3-13 all-time vs. Tennessee. Last season, the Buckeyes defended their home courts at the Varsity Tennis Center to post a 4-3 upset vs. the No. 27 Volunteers, defeating Tennessee for the first time since 1986.
SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH
?Georgia Tech opened its season with three home matches – all vs. ranked teams – and has compiled a 2-1 record, defeating No. 38 Columbia, 4-1, and No. 59 South Florida 6-1.
The Georgia Tech lineup features two ranked singles players and one ranked doubles team. No. 54 Paige Hourigan leads the Yellow Jackets with two wins vs. ranked opponents this season on court two and has won four straight matches, while No. 68 Johnnise Renaud has compiled a 1-2 record at No. 1 singles. The 43rd-ranked duo of Alexa Anton-Ohlmeyer and Alexis Prokopuik is 6-3 overall and is yet to compete in a dual match this spring.
Ohio State is 0-3 all-time vs. Georgia Tech. The two squads last met in Columbus Feb. 13, 2005, a 5-2 Buckeye loss.
OHIO STATE BATTLES VS. STANFORD AND NOTRE DAME
?Last weekend, Ohio State traveled to South Bend, Ind., to compete in a pair of matches against Top 20 teams. In their first match of the weekend vs. the Cardinal, the No. 26-ranked sophomore tandem of Sandy Niehaus and Gabriela De Santis upset Stanford’s sixth-ranked Taylor Davidson and Carol Zhao in doubles, while sophomore Miho Kowase picked up a win in straight sets for the Buckeyes in singles on court five. The Buckeyes fell 4-1 to Stanford. The next afternoon, Ohio State played host Notre Dame at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Niehaus, Kowase and freshman Olivia Sneed posted singles win for the Buckeyes, but Notre Dame had claimed the doubles point to clinch the victory, 4-3.
BUCKEYE BREAKDOWN
• In dual matches, the Buckeyes are 20-8 (.714) in singles and 5-6 (.455) in doubles this spring.
• Ohio State is 3-0 when winning the doubles point this spring slate.
• Freshman Olivia Sneed is 10-0 overall this season in singles, while sophomore Miho Kowase leads the Buckeyes with a 5-0 singles dual record.
• The Buckeyes are 1-1 on the road vs. ranked opponents this season. Ohio State is 1-2 overall vs. ranked opponents.
• The Scarlet and Gray are undefeated on courts four, five and six in singles competition.
UP NEXT
?The Buckeyes will return to Columbus, Ohio, March 1 as they host No. 9 Baylor at the Varsity Tennis Center
