No. 18 Ohio State Resumes B1G Action at Iowa, Nebraska – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 9, 2015
RELATED INFO
· Live Scoring at Iowa
· Live Scoring at Nebraska
· 2015 Ohio State Women’s Tennis Schedule
· Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook and Twitter
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The No. 18 Ohio State women’s tennis team (15-4, 7-0 B1G) looks to remain undefeated in Big Ten Conference competition as it resumes Big Ten play vs. Iowa and Nebraska this weekend on the road. The Buckeyes, who have won nine consecutive matches, will face Iowa at 5 p.m. ET Friday in Iowa City, Iowa, before taking on Nebraska at 1 p.m. ET Sunday in Lincoln, Neb.
A LOOK AT IOWA
Iowa enters the match with an 8-9 overall record and a 2-5 mark in Big Ten outings. Shelby Talcott leads the Hawkeyes with 10 wins this dual season, all at the No. 1 position. The doubles team of Morven McCulloch and Annette Dohanics is 7-1 this spring and has prevailed in its last five matches.
Ohio State is 20-23 all-time vs. the Hawkeyes. Last season, the Buckeyes notched a 6-1 road victory, claiming the doubles point and wins on five of six singles courts.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
Nebraska will host 64th-ranked Penn State Friday before taking on the Buckeyes Sunday on Senior Day in Lincoln, Neb. The Cornhuskers are 12-8 overall and 0-7 in conference play. Katerina Matysova leads the team with 12 singles wins, including three victories against B1G opponents, while the doubles tandem of Mary Hanna and Iazbella Zgierska is 14-3 on court one this spring.
Nebraska leads the all-time series, 6-4. Last year, Ohio State closed out the regular season vs. the Cornhuskers on the road, earning a 4-0 victory in its regular season finale to clinch third place in the Big Ten.
LAST TIME OUT
The Buckeyes collected a 4-1 win vs. Texas Saturday in Austin to earn their eighth-consecutive victory. The Scarlet and Gray rallied to win the doubles point on courts one and three, before Sandy Niehaus, Anna Sanford and Miho Kowase nabbed three straight-set victories to claim the team victory in the first meeting between the programs.
B1G NOTES
Ohio State is joined by No. 14 Michigan as the only undefeated teams in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have clinched the doubles point in all conference matches, while the sophomore tandem of Miho Kowase and Ferny Angeles Paz is 6-0 in league doubles play. Sandy Niehaus (6-0) and Grainne O’Neill (4-0) are undefeated in B1G singles matches. Overall, the Buckeyes are 33-9 in singles and 14-2 in doubles in league outings.
IN THE RANKINGS?Ohio State moved up a spot to No. 18 in the latest ITA poll released Tuesday. The Buckeyes are getting closer to a program high in the rankings, a No. 17 selection by the 2010 squad. Sophomores Gabriella De Santis and Sandy Niehaus earned the No. 40 spot in the doubles poll. The duo is 8-4 in dual outings with a 3-1 B1G record and has won its last two matches.
IN A NUTSHELL
· The Buckeyes have won nine straight matches, tying the program record set in 2000. Ohio State has not dropped a match since March 1 vs. Baylor.
· Ohio State 8-1 overall and 3-0 vs. B1G opponents on the road.
· Sophomore Sandy Niehaus has earned eight straight singles wins. She leads the team with 15 singles wins in dual play, while she is tied with classmate Gabriella De Santis for most B1G singles with six.
UP NEXT
Ohio State returns back to its home courts at 3 p.m. April 17 to take on No. 14 Michigan before hosting No. 51 Michigan State and Akron April 19 at noon and 5 p.m., respectively.
