Ohio State
NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships
Di Lorenzo Falls in Three Sets in NCAA Round of 16
5/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 27, 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The outstanding season for Ohio State women’s tennis freshman Francesca Di Lorenzo came to an end Friday, as the New Albany, Ohio, native lost in three sets in the NCAA Singles Championship Round of 16 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Di Lorenzo, the tournament’s three seed, fell to No. 9-16 seed and No. 10 ranked Breaunna Addison of Texas, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2.
The loss ended Di Lorenzo’s winning streak at 16. She closes her season 37-5, setting the program record for single-season wins. All four of her losses this spring came in three sets, with three of the four to Top 15 ranked players.
By virtue of earning the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Singles Champions and reaching the tournament’s Round of 16, Di Lorenzo earns All-America honors. She is the third Buckeye to be named an All-American, joining Kristy Dascoli and Monica Rincon who were recognized in 2001.
Di Lorenzo had the most outstanding freshman season for a Buckeye and one of the top seasons in program history. She won the ITA National Indoor Championship in the fall, the first national title for the program. Rated the top newcomer by the ITA to start the campaign, she was ranked in the Top 5 all year, the highest singles rankings for a Buckeye, including four weeks as the No. 1-ranked player. Di Lorenzo was tabbed the Big Ten Player of the Year and was a unanimous choice as Big Ten Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten. In league matches, Di Lorenzo was 11-0, winning on court one in all 11 B1G outings. She was the first Buckeye to be seeded for the NCAA singles championship and made the first appearance in the tournament for an Ohio State player since 2002.
In the Round of 16 against Addison of Texas, Di Lorenzo won the first set, 6-2, winning the last five games. The second set featured seven consecutive breaks of serve and Di Lorenzo was broken serving up 6-5 to force a tiebreaker. Di Lorenzo won the first point before Addison won the next four to take a 4-1 lead. Di Lorenzo cut the lead to 4-2 but the Longhorn won the final three points in the breaker to force the third set. In the third, Addison won the first two games and Di Lorenzo was unable to get the break back. The Buckeye held at love to make the score 5-2 but Addison closed out the win in her next service game.
Di Lorenzo’s match ended the Buckeyes’ 2016 season, arguably the best in program history. The squad was 31-3, the first time with more than 20 wins in a season. The team was sixth in the final ITA rankings and was in the Top 6 (a program high) since early February, including time at No. 1. The squad won the outright Big Ten regular season title with an 11-0 ledger and claimed the first conference tournament title in school history. For the first time, the Buckeyes reached the NCAA Championship quarterfinals and hosted NCAA first and second round matches.
