Ohio State
Riviera ITA Women's All-American Championships
Champion! Di Lorenzo Wins Riviera/ITA All-American Title
10/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Oct. 9, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio –Francesca Di Lorenzo, a sophomore on the Ohio State women’s tennis team, claimed the tournament title at the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships Sunday in Pacific Palisades, California. It is the second ITA national title for the New Albany, Ohio, native, who also won the 2015 USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championship. They are the first two ITA national titles in program history.
In the championship match, Di Lorenzo, the No. 3 seed, defeated Ena Shibahara, who had won 10 matches between the pre-qualifying, qualifying and main draws to make the final.
Game. Set. Match. @OhioState_WTEN Francesca Di Lorenzo is your #RivieraITA singles champ! Defeats @uclawtennis Shibahara 64, 63. pic.twitter.com/vKaBZPO60X
— ITA Tennis (@ITA_Tennis) October 9, 2016
In the first set, Di Lorenzo was down 2-3 but she battled back and won four of the last six games to clinch the set, 6-4. Each player held through the first four games of the second set before Di Lorenzo won the next two to go ahead 4-2. Shibahara won the next game (4-3), but Di Lorenzo held to go up 5-3 and then broke to win the set 6-3 and claim the title.
“It feels unbelievable,” said Di Lorenzo to the ITA. “Every tournament, I try to go out and play the best I can and compete the best I can and see where it goes from there. This wasn’t expected, and I’m really happy to be in the position I’m standing in right now.”
Di Lorenzo lost just one set in her five wins en route to the title.
“I just tried to keep things physical,” said Di Lorenzo of the championship match. “I knew she had played 10 previous matches coming into today, so thought she may be a little tired, so wanted to keep (the match) as physical as possible and try to get some depth, because she likes to stay on the baseline and take the ball early. I knew I had to stay offensive in this match and I think I did that pretty well and I played my game.”
The tournament title gives Di Lorenzo a spot in the upcoming national indoor championships, where she is the defending champion.
Riviera/ITA All-American Championships
Main Draw Singles
First Round (Oct. 6)
No. 3 Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) def. No. 42 Francesca Fusinato (VaTech), 6-2, 6-0
Round of 16 (Oct. 7)
No. 3 Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) def. No. 72 Lily Miyazaki (Oklahoma), 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
Quarterfinals (Oct. 7)
No. 3 Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) def. No. 9 Belinda Woolcock (Florida), 7-5, 6-2
Semifinals (Oct. 8)
No. 3 Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) def. No. 1 Haley Carter (UNC), 7-6 (3), 6-2
Final (Oct. 9)
No. 3 Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) def. Ena Shibahara (UCLA), 6-4, 6-3
