No. 2 Buckeyes Face Miami and No. 10 Baylor This Weekend in the VTC
2/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 23, 2017
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 2-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team (9-1, 1-0 B1G) hosts Miami at noon Saturday and No. 10 Baylor at 11 a.m. Sunday in the Ohio State Varsity Tennis Center (880 West Henderson Road) in Columbus. Admission is free. (Note the Baylor match time has been moved up by an hour to accomodate the Bears’ travel schedule.)
The match Friday includes free pizza for Ohio State students
Saturday is Kids Day. There will be free pizza for youth (eighth grade and under), a giveaway for kids 10 and under and free racquet stenciling.
For fans unable to make it to the matches, live video and scores are available on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
BUCKEYES RISE IN THE RANKINGS
Ohio State moved up two spots to No. 2 in the ITA Rankings this week after the squad’s two wins last weekend. Other ranked B1G teams include No. 4 Michigan, No. 32 Northwestern and No. 48 Iowa. The rankings are the first computerized team rankings of the year.
The team now has seven ranked singles players and two ranked doubles tandems. Sophomore Francesca Di Lorenzo remains at No. 1 where she has been ranked since the beginning of the spring. Senior Miho Kowase moved up to No. 42, junior Anna Sanford is now No. 53 and senior Gabriella De Santis moved up 11 spots to No. 57. Senior Sandy Niehaus previously unranked is now slotted at No. 84, junior Olivia Sneed is No. 117 and senior Ferny Angeles Paz is ranked for the first time this season at No. 120.
In doubles, the duo of Kowase and Di Lorenzo checks in at No. 26, while the senior pair of De Santis and Niehaus is No. 47.
SCOUTING MIAMI
The Hurricanes are 2-2 so far this season. The squad picked up their two wins when they topped Brown and No. 18 Texas. The team has three ranked singles players and one ranked doubles tandem. Junior Sinead Lohan is slotted at No. 7, freshman Estela Perez-Somarriba is No. 76 and redshirt senior Maci Epstein is No. 97. The duo of Lohan and freshman Dominika Paterova checks in at No. 48.
The Buckeyes are 1-6 all-time vs. the Hurricanes. Last year, Ohio State fell 4-2 to Miami on the road March 16, 2016.
A LOOK AT BAYLOR
The No. 10 Lady Bears are 6-1 in the spring slate with their loss to No. 10 Michigan last weekend, 7-0. Baylor has two ranked singles players and one ranked doubles tandem. Senior Blair Shankle checks in at No. 14, while fellow senior Rhiann Newborn is No. 105. The pair of Shankle and sophomore Elizabeth Profit is slotted at No. 18.
Ohio State is 2-2 all-time vs. Baylor. Last year, the Buckeyes downed the Lady Bears on the road, 4-0, March 3, 2016.
DI LORENZO NAMED B1G ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Francesca Di Lorenzo was named the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week after picking up two singles wins and one doubles victory last weekend over No. 10 Michigan and Penn State. Di Lorenzo has topped the ITA ranking list at No. 1 since the beginning of the spring and is now No. 26 in doubles with partner Miho Kowase.
On Friday vs. Michigan, No. 1-ranked Di Lorenzo defeated No. 27 Minor in straight sets. Against Penn State Sunday, Di Lorenzo and Kowase dropped just one game in doubles to help the team clinch the doubles point and posted a 6-3, 6-2 victory in singles on court one.
LAST TIME OUT
The Buckeyes posted two wins over Big Ten rivals last weekend inside the Varsity Tennis Center.
Ohio State topped No. 10 Michigan, 5-1, Friday in a nonconference match. The senior pair of Angeles Paz and Kowase dropped only one game to pick up the first doubles win, while the duo of De Santis and Niehaus battled back from being down 5-2 to notch a 7-6 (2) victory on court two to clinch the doubles point for the Scarlet and Gray. Di Lorenzo and De Santis both defeated ranked singles opponents while Niehaus and Angeles Paz also posted singles victories to help the team beat the Wolverines.
The Buckeyes shut out Penn State Sunday, 7-0. Ohio State claimed the doubles point after wins on courts one and two. Di Lorenzo, De Santis, Sanford, Kowase, Niehaus and Angeles Paz all posted straight-set singles victories for the squad.
STATS UPDATE
Senior Ferny Angeles Paz and sophomore Francesca Di Lorenzo lead the Buckeyes with 17 singles wins on the year and Angeles Paz leads the team with nine dual match victories. Senior Miho Kowase is second with 16 victories on the year and second in dual match victories with eight wins this spring.
In doubles, Niehaus and Kowase lead the team with 12 wins each, while Angeles Paz has nine and junior Anna Sanford has eight. The senior tandem of Gabriella De Santis and Niehaus has a team-best seven victories overall, while the pair of Kowase and Di Lorenzo leads the team with six dual match victories.
The Buckeyes are undefeated on courts five and six, with a 9-0 mark on each. The squad is 8-1 on court four, 7-1 on one, 6-2 on three and 4-4 on two. In doubles, court two is 8-1, court three is 5-3 and court one is 4-4.
UP NEXT
Ohio State will travel to Tempe, Ariz. to take on No. 12 Pepperdine March 4 at 2 p.m. and No. 30 Arizona State March 5 at 2 p.m. The team will return to Columbus to host No. 50 Virginia at 6 p.m. March 8 inside the Varsity Tennis Center.
