No. 3 Buckeyes Open Four-Match Homestand – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 7, 2016
Ohio State vs. Iowa & Nebraska: Live Scoring | Live Video (indoor only)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The No. 3-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team (19-2, 5-0 B1G) hosts two Big Ten foes in Columbus this weekend. The Buckeyes face Iowa (10-11, 0-7 B1G) at 4 p.m. Friday and take on Nebraska (17-4, 4-3 B1G) at noon Sunday. The match vs. the Hawkeyes will be played INSIDE the Varsity Tennis Center (880 West Henderson Road).
The match vs. Nebraska will be played INSIDE the Varsity Tennis Center (880 West Henderson Road).
Admission is free to all Buckeye regular season home matches.
IN THE B1G
• Entering this weekend, Ohio State is one of three Big Ten teams with a 5-0 ledger in conference play this spring, joining Michigan and Northwestern. Illinois (4-1) and Indiana (3-2) follow with one and two losses, respectively.
• The Buckeyes did not drop a point through their first five conference matches, with four 7-0 wins and a 6-0 victory.
• Ohio State was 11-1 in the Big Ten last year, falling only to Michigan.
IN COLUMBUS
• The matches this weekend open a four-game homestand for the Buckeyes.
• Ohio State is 9-0 in home matches this season, including victories over five ranked opponents.
• Junior Ferny Angeles Paz leads the squad with a 9-0 mark at home, while classmate Miho Kowase is 8-0.
RECORDS WATCH
• Ohio State has shutouts in each of its last four matches, tying the program record for consecutive shutouts first set in 1986, 2002 and 2010.
• The squad enters the weekend with 19 wins. The program record for wins in a season is 20, set in 2010 and 2015.
• Francesca Di Lorenzo has 25 wins this season, tying for sixth in program history for wins by a freshman in a single season.
• Junior Miho Kowase is now tied for 15th in program history for career singles wins with 68.
SCOUTING IOWA
The Hawkeyes enter the weekend 10-11 this season and 0-7 in conference play. Last time out, Iowa was swept by Big Ten foes Northwestern and Illinois on the road, 7-0. Other Big Ten teams the Hawkeyes have faced include Nebraska, Indiana, Maryland, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. The team finished 2-9 in conference play last season. Iowa is 2-7 on the road this year picking up wins against University of Chicago and Drake.
Zoe Douglas, Anastasia Reimchen, Aimee Tarun and Kristen Thoms lead the Hawkeyes with 10 singles victories each. The pair of Natalie Looney and Aimee Tarun leads the team in doubles with a 10-3 record this season. They have won seven of their last 10 matches.
All-time, Ohio State is 20-23 against Iowa. The Buckeyes topped the Hawkeyes last season on the road, 5-2.
A LOOK AT THE HUSKERS
Nebraska entered the weekend 17-4 on the year and 4-3 in conference play. Last weekend, the Huskers fell in road matches to Northwestern (5-2) and Illinois (4-1). In Big Ten play, Nebraska has triumphed over Iowa, Rutgers, Minnesota and Wisconsin, while falling to Northwestern and Purdue. The Huskers were 0-11 in conference play last year.
All-time, the Buckeyes are 4-6 against the Huskers. Ohio State swept Nebraska last season, 7-0.
LAST TIME OUT
Ohio State won two Big Ten road matches last weekend. The squad started its road trip by sweeping Rutgers 7-0 last Friday. Ferny Angeles Paz, Sandy Niehaus, Anna Sanford and Gabriela De Santis all posted singles and doubles victories.
The Buckeyes went on to defeat Maryland 6-0 Sunday. Ohio State won the doubles point only dropping one game on courts two and three. The team won all the singles matches in straight sets except for court four which was left unfinished because of to time constraints. Olivia Sneed, Francesca Di Lorenzo and Niehaus all were victorious in singles and doubles vs. the Terps.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Buckeyes moved down one place to No. 3 in the ITA rankings released Tuesday. Ohio State is the only Big Ten team in the Top 10. Other ranked B1G teams include No. 11 Michigan, No. 38 Northwestern, No. 50 Illinois, No. 65 Minnesota and No. 68 Indiana.
Ohio State has four ranked singles players and three ranked doubles pairs in the latest ITA polls. Freshman Francesca Di Lorenzo is now fourth. Junior Sandy Niehaus, sophomore Olivia Sneed and sophomore Anna Sanford check in at No. 79, No. 99 and No. 122, respectively.
In doubles, junior Miho Kowase and Sanford are ranked third this week. The tandem of juniors Ferny Angeles Paz and Niehaus and pair of Sneed and Kowase check in at No. 42 and No. 70, respectively.
BUCKEYE BULLET POINTS
• The Buckeye doubles pair of freshman Francesca Di Lorenzo and sophomore Olivia Sneed only has one loss this season with an 18-1 record.
• The duo of junior Miho Kowase and sophomore Anna Sanford is 12-3 in dual matches and leads the team with 20 overall wins. The tandem, ranked third nationally, has won its last nine matches.
• Ohio State has won the doubles point in 18 matches this season, including in each of the last 14.
• In singles, junior Ferny Angeles Paz, Di Lorenzo and Sneed lead the Buckeyes with 16 dual match wins each. Overall, Di Lorenzo leads the team with 25 wins, followed by Angeles Paz with 24. • Junior Miho Kowase enters the weekend on an 11-match winning streak, while classmate Ferny Angeles Paz has won her last 10 decisions.
• The Buckeyes are tied for second nationally with 19 wins this season, joining UNLV and Auburn. UNC is first with 21 victories on the year.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes will remain home next weekend to host two more Big Ten opponents. Ohio State will face Illinois Friday, April 15 at 4 p.m. and Northwestern at noon Sunday, April 17.
