Ohio State
Florida
No. 2/3 Ohio State Falls to No. 1 Florida, 4-1
3/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 14, 2017
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Playing at the USTA National Campus in Florida as part of the College MatchDay series, the No. 2/3-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team fell to No. 1-ranked Florida, 4-1, Tuesday. The Buckeyes are now 14-2 this spring, while the Gators stay undefeated with a 13-0 mark. The match, with 642 fans in attendance, was broadcast by ESPN3.
“This was a great experience for us to be at the National Campus playing the best team,” Melissa Schaub, Ohio State head coach, said. “We have some things to go back and work on. We did not start out well tonight. We fought hard and tried to make a run at the end in some second and third sets, but it was just a little too late. Florida is a very good team and all of the credit goes to them. We will get back to work.”
The Buckeyes return to Big Ten play this week, hosting Wisconsin at 5 p.m. Friday in the Varsity Tennis Center. Admission is free. Sunday, Ohio State will face Minnesota in Minneapolis at noon ET.
Florida earned the doubles point with wins on courts three and one. On court three, the Buckeye tandem of Miho Kowase and Ferny Angeles Paz fell 6-3 to No. 36-ranked Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock, with the Gators winning the last two games. On court one, No. 63-ranked Francesca Di Lorenzo and Anna Sanford suffered a 7-5 loss to Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan, who are ranked 15th. The match on court two between the Buckeyes’ No. 31-ranked pair of Gabriella De Santis and Sandy Niehaus and the Gators’ No. 14-ranked duo of Anna Danilina and Ingrid Neel was tied at five when play was abandoned.
The Gators won the first two singles matches off the court for a 3-0 lead. On court two, No. 14-ranked Neel was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over No. 41 De Santis, while on court three No. 22 Danilina posted a 6-2, 7-5 win over No. 61 Sanford.
Di Lorenzo, the nation’s top-ranked player, put the Buckeyes on the board with a straight set win over No. 19-ranked Woolcock, 6-3, 6-1. She is on a seven-match winning streak and improves to 22-1 overall this year, with a 12-1 dual match record.
Florida clinched the win with a victory on court six, with No. 32 Keegan defeating Angeles Paz, 6-4, 6-2. The loss was the first for the Buckeye senior this spring, ending her 13-match winning streak.
The remaining courts were both in a third set when the match was clinched. On court five against No. 125 Austin, No. 53 Kowase won the first set 6-3 before dropping the second, 6-1. The Buckeye was in control in the third up 3-0. On court four, No. 54 Niehaus fought back after losing the first set against No. 12 Kuhlman (6-1), winning the second 6-4 to force a third. A game had not yet been completed in the deciding set.
Ohio State vs Florida
Mar 14, 2017 at Orlando, Fla.
(USTA National Campus)
#1 Florida 4, #2 Ohio State 1
Singles competition
1. #1 Francesca Di Lorenzo (OSU) def. #19 Belinda Woolcock (UF) 6-3, 6-1
2. #14 Ingrid Neel (UF) def. #41 Gabriella De Santis (OSU) 6-2, 6-3
3. #22 Anna Danilina (UF) def. #61 Anna Sanford (OSU) 6-2, 7-5
4. #12 Josie Kuhlman (UF) vs. #54 Sandy Niehaus (OSU) 6-1, 4-6, 0-0, unfinished
5. #125 Brooke Austin (UF) vs. #53 Miho Kowase (OSU) 3-6, 6-1, 0-3, unfinished
6. #32 Kourtney Keegan (UF) def. Ferny Angeles Paz (OSU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #15 Brooke Austin/Kourtney Keegan (UF) def. #63 Francesca Di Lorenzo/Anna Sanford (OSU) 7-5
2. #14 Anna Danilina/Ingrid Neel (UF) vs. #31 Gabriella De Santis/Sandy Niehaus (OSU) 5-5, unfinished
3. #36 Josie Kuhlman/Belinda Woolcock (UF) def. Miho Kowase/Ferny Angeles Paz (OSU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Ohio State 14-2; National ranking #2
Florida 13-0; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,3,1,6)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,1,6
