De Santis Named B1G Player of the Week – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 10, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – After leading the No. 22 Ohio State women’s tennis team to a pair of wins vs. No. 28 Northwestern and No. 37 Illinois last weekend, sophomore Gabriella De Santis has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday afternoon. It is De Santis’ second career honor after she was recognized April 1, 2014.
De Santis notched two wins on court one vs. B1G opponents, improving to 3-0 at No. 1 singles and 8-6 overall this spring. Over the weekend, the Caracas, Venezuela, native defeated Northwestern’s Alicia Barnett in straight sets to push the Buckeyes to a 6-1 victory at home. The team win marked the first Buckeye victory vs. Northwestern since April 13, 2003. The momentum continued for De Santis and Ohio State as they traveled to Illinois. After dropping the first set, De Santis rallied to earn a three-set victory, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, vs. Melissa Kopinski and clinch Ohio State’s 6-1 win over the Illini.
No. 19-ranked Ohio State (8-4, 2-0 B1G) has faced ranked opponents in eight of its last nine matches. De Santis is one of four Buckeyes to earn a 2-0 record in conference singles play this spring along with sophomores Sandy Niehaus and Ferny Angeles Paz and junior Grainne O’Neill.
The Buckeyes will be back in action at noon Saturday at the Varsity Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio, as they take on Penn State. The Scarlet and Gray have won 15 of their last 16 matches at home.
