Di Lorenzo Named B1G Athlete of the Week
3/7/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 7, 2017
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Francesca Di Lorenzo, a sophomore on the No. 2-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team, was named Big Ten Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week after picking up four wins last week in Arizona as they Buckeyes won two team matches.
Di Lorenzo, from New Albany, Ohio, had two singles and two doubles wins vs. ranked opponents last week. Against No. 9 Pepperdine she topped No. 6 Luisa Stefani 6-0, 6-4. She and Miho Kowase downed the second-ranked tandem in doubles to help the Buckeyes claim the doubles point en route to a 6-1 win over the Waves. Against No. 35 Arizona State, Di Lorenzo defeated No. 79 Kassiday Jump, winning in a tiebreaker in the first set before a shutout in set two. In doubles she paired with Anna Sanford to defeat the No. 26-ranked tandem to clinch the doubles point. The Buckeyes posted a 4-0 victory over the Sun Devils to improve to 13-1 this season.
On the year, Di Lorenzo is 20-1 overall, with a 10-1 dual match record in singles. In doubles, she is 11-2 this spring and overall. This is her fourth career Big Ten weekly award and her second this season.
In the ITA rankings this week, Di Lorenzo maintained her spot as the No. 1 singles player and she and Kowase are now the 10th-ranked doubles team, while Di Lorenzo and Sanford are ranked 63rd.
Di Lorenzo is joined in the rankings by No. 41 Gabriella De Santis, No. 53 Kowase, No. 54 Sandy Niehaus and No. 61 Sanford. Two other Buckeye doubles teams are ranked – No. 31 De Santis and Niehaus and No. 79 Ferny Angeles Paz and Olivia Sneed.
Di Lorenzo and the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes (13-1) host Virginia at 6 p.m. Wednesday inside the Varsity Tennis Center. Admission is free.
