Ohio State
Michigan State
No. 17 Ohio State Defeats No. 50 Michigan State, 6-1, in Regular Season Finale – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 19, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The No. 17 Ohio State women’s tennis team completed regular season play at home Sunday afternoon indoors at the Varsity Tennis Center with a 6-1 win over No. 50 Michigan State. With the victory, the Buckeyes improve to 18-5 overall and finish the season with 10 wins in Big Ten Conference play, a program record. The B1G victory vs. the Spartans also secured a second-place finish in the Big Ten regular season standing and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
“We told the team after this match to go 10-1 in the Big Ten is something to be really proud of,” head coach Melissa Schaub said. “This team competes hard every single day and our biggest point of focus was how we were going to respond after being knocked down a little bit on Friday. We came out with a lot of energy and played well at almost every spot.”
Ohio State will receive a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will play the winner of the No. 7 Purdue vs. No. 10 Wisconsin match at 3 p.m. ET Friday. The tournament will be hosted by Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., and run April 23-26 at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center. The final bracket will be announced after the completion of conference matches Sunday.
“Right now we need to get healthy,” Schaub continued. “We’ve had a few people in and out of the lineup a little bit. We want to make sure we can go into the tournament at full force. It’s a huge deal to play in the Big Ten Tournament and you want to make a run at it to give yourself a chance at the NCAA Tournament. It’s really important we go in there feeling confident and continue what we’ve been doing. We’ve been fighting and working hard all season and hopefully good things happen.”
After dropping the first game, 45th-ranked Sandy Niehaus and Gabriella De Santis roared back to win eight games in a row to defeat Erin Faulkner and Catherin Parenteau, 8-1, on court one. Sophomore Miho Kowase and freshman Olivia Sneed teamed up to capture the doubles point with an 8-3 victory at No. 3 vs. Athena Trouillot and Anna Zelechonok. Grainne O’Neill and Anna Sanford trailed 6-4 when play was suspended. Ohio State claimed the doubles point in nine of 10 conference matches this spring.
Ohio State dominated singles play vs. the Spartans, claiming five wins in straight sets vs. the Spartans. Sanford notched the first victory for the Buckeyes with a 6-1, 6-3 victory vs. Lexi Baylis at No. 2, 6-1, 6-3. O’Neill cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 win against Trouillot on court five and finishes the regular season undefeated in B1G play at 7-0 in singles. Kowase sealed the team victory vs. the Spartans as she topped Parenteau, 6-2, 6-3, on court four, to earn Ohio State’s 10th win vs. a ranked opponent this spring.
Niehaus topped Aslina Chua, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 5 and has won nine of her last 10 matches, while De Santis improved to 8-2 on court one this spring with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph vs. Faulkner, to give the Buckeyes a 6-0 lead vs. the Spartans. All eyes turned to court six as Sneed rallied back to force a super tiebreaker vs. Meyers. After exchanging points back and forth, Sneed recorded an ace to take a 6-5 lead before the score was knotted again at 7-7. Meyers pulled away as she edged Sneed, 10-8, in the super tiebreaker and earned Michigan State’s sole point vs. the Buckeyes.
Tennis Match Results
Michigan State vs Ohio State
Apr 19, 2015 at Columbus, Ohio
(Varsity Tennis Center)
#17 Ohio State 6, #50 Michigan State 1
Singles competition
1. Gabriella De Santis (OSU) def. Erin Faulkner (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Anna Sanford (OSU) def. Lexi Baylis (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Sandy Niehaus (OSU) def. Aslina Chua (MSU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Miho Kowase (OSU) def. Catherine Parenteau (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Grainne O’Neill (OSU) def. Athena Trouillot (MSU) 6-0, 6-3
6. Emily Meyers (MSU) def. Olivia Sneed (OSU) 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8)
Doubles competition
1. #45 Gabriella De Santis/Sandy Niehaus (OSU) def. Erin Faulkner/Catherine Parenteau (MSU) 8-1
2. Grainne O’Neill/Anna Sanford (OSU) vs. Lexi Baylis/Emily Meyers (MSU) 4-6, unfinished
3. Olivia Sneed/Miho Kowase (OSU) def. Athena Trouillot/Anna Zelechonok (MSU) 8-3
Match Notes:
Michigan State 16-8, 5-6 B1G; National ranking #50
Ohio State 18-5, 10-1 B1G; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,5,4,3,1,6)
T-2:35 A-119
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,5,4,3,1,6
