Ohio State
Northwestern
No. 5 Buckeyes Top Northwestern for Eighth Straight Win – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 17, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 5-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team defeated No. 40 Northwestern, 6-1, Sunday to close out its regular season home schedule undefeated with a 13-0 mark. The Scarlet and Gray, who have won their last eight matches, improve to 23-2 this season and stay perfect in the Big Ten at 9-0. The Wildcats fall to 10-9 this spring and drop their first conference match, falling to 8-1 in league play.
The Wildcats clinched the doubles point with wins on courts one and three to take a 1-0 lead. The doubles point marked the first team point allowed by the Buckeyes in conference play and in the last seven matches. The Buckeyes had won the doubles point in each of the last 17 matches. Ohio State swept singles Northwestern, posting five straight set victories, along with a super tiebreak victory, for the 6-1 win. Ohio State is 53-0 in Big Ten singles matches this spring.
“I think Northwestern expects to win tennis matches because that is what they have done for the longest time,” Melissa Schaub, Ohio State head coach, said. “We knew it was going to be tough. I don’t think we played the greatest doubles point; we might have gotten a little bit tight in the moment but we came out in singles and played confidently. We are playing some of our best tennis right now and that is a good thing moving forward.”
Next week marks the end of the regular season. The Buckeyes squad will travel to Bloomington, Ind., to face Big Ten foe Indiana at 3 p.m. Saturday and will venture to West Lafayette, Ind., for a conference match against Purdue at 2 p.m. Sunday. The team will then head to East Lansing, Mich., for the Big Ten Tournament April 28-May 1.
In doubles, the No. 39-ranked Buckeye tandem of juniors Sandy Niehaus and Gabriella De Santis shut out the Wildcat duo of Alicia Barnett and Brooke Rischbieth on court two, 6-0, marking the Buckeyes’ seventh win in a row. The No. 7-ranked pair of sophomore Anna Sanford and junior Miho Kowase fell to the No. 28-ranked tandem of Maddie Lipp and Alex Chatt on court one, 6-3. On court three, Buckeye freshman Francesca Di Lorenzo and junior Ferny Angeles Paz battled back from a 5-3 deficit but fell in a tiebreak to Jillian Rooney and Erin Larner, 7-6 (6), to give NU the doubles point.
In singles, No. 107 Olivia Sneed quickly defeated Rischbieth on court six, 6-1, 6-1, for her sixth win in a row. No. 103 Sanford notched the next victory for the Scarlet and Gray when she defeated Barnett on court two, 6-1, 6-3, marking her seventh straight victory.
Kowase notched a 6-2, 6-1 win over Chatt on court four, extending her team-high winning streak to 15. No. 3 Di Lorenzo secured the victory for the Scarlet and Gray with her eighth win in a row, downing No. 82 Larner on court one, 6-3, 6-1.
After a close first set, Ferny Angeles Paz quickly won the second set to defeat Chatt on court five, 7-6 (3), 6-2, moving her winning streak to 13. De Santis came back after dropping the second set to win over No. 58 Lipp on court three, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (11).
Overall, the Buckeyes have won their last 14 home matches, tying the program record for consecutive home wins, first set in 2002 and combined between the 2014 and ’15 seasons.
The match marked Senior Day for the Buckeye program, with Nicole Flower and Grainne O’Neill recognized before the match.
Northwestern vs Ohio State
Apr 17, 2016 at Columbus
(Varsity Tennis Courts)
#5 Ohio State 6, #40 Northwestern 1
Singles competition
1. #3 Francesca Di Lorenzo (OSU) def. #82 Erin Larner (NU) 6-3, 6-1
2. #103 Anna Sanford (OSU) def. Alicia Barnett (NU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Gabriella De Santis (OSU) def. #58 Maddie Lipp (NU) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (13-11)
4. Miho Kowase (OSU) def. Alex Chatt (NU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Ferny Angeles Paz (OSU) def. Jillian Rooney (NU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
6. #107 Olivia Sneed (OSU) def. Brooke Rishbieth (NU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #28 Maddie Lipp/Alex Chatt (NU) def. #7 Miho Kowase/Anna Sanford (OSU) 6-3
2. #39 Gabriella De Santis/Sandy Niehaus (OSU) def. Alicia Barnett/Brooke Rishbieth (NU) 6-0
3. Jillian Rooney/Erin Larner (NU) def. Ferny Angeles Paz/Francesca Di Lorenzo (OSU) 7-6 (8-6)
Match Notes:
Northwestern 10-9, 8-1 B1G; National ranking #40
Ohio State 23-2, 9-0 B1G; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,2,4,1,5,3)
T-3:04 A-167
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
6,2,4,1,5,3
