Scarlet and Gray Release 2018-19 Schedule
9/16/2018 9:08:30 PM | Women's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After wrapping up a strong season in 2018 the Buckeyes set up another talent-driven schedule that will bring a lot of excitement to Columbus and high energy on the road.
The fall begins at the Furman Fall Classic in Greenville, S.C. (Sept. 21 – 23). Last year in Furman, 2018 senior Olivia Sneed led the way by picking up three victories to claim Flight Two for Ohio State and current redshirt sophomore Shiori Fukuda made her first collegiate appearance.
The end of October holds two tournaments for Ohio State, with the ITA Midwest Regional in Ann Arbor, Mich., and the Tennessee Invite down in the hills of Knoxville, Tenn. Both tournaments hold good memories for the Buckeyes as last year in Ann Arbor, Fukuda led the squad, advancing to the singles final in her first regional appearance. The following week Sneed showed off her talent in the Tennessee Invite by winning all three of her singles matches.
The final fall road trip leads out west to Surprise, Ariz., and the Oracle Fall Championship.
The 2019 portion of the schedule begins Jan. 19 when the Buckeyes return to Ann Arbor for the Michigan Invitational.
The ITA Kick-Off follows the following week to open the dual match schedule. Ohio State will head to Atlanta for two matches, taking on host Georgia Tech in the first round. Auburn and Kentucky are also in Atlanta, with the winners and losers facing off on the second day. The regional winner earns a spot in the ITA National Team Indoors.
The Buckeyes will open their home slate in the Varsity Tennis Center against Texas Feb. 1 and take on Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., Feb. 4. Ohio State will returns to its home court to play instate foe Akron Feb. 20. They will wrap up the month of February with a road trip to Tempe, Ariz., for a neutral site match vs. TCU Feb. 23 and a matchup with Arizona State Feb. 24.
The month of March is a month full of travel for the Buckeyes, only hosting one home match against Baylor March 3, followed by a match at UNLV March 13 to end nonconference play.
Ohio State will close out the regular season with 10 consecutive matches vs. Big Ten foes. March ends with a match at Nebraska March 22, a home matchup with Iowa March 24 and a journey to Michigan for matchups vs. the Spartans March 20 and Wolverines March 31.
April features back-to-back home weekends. Wisconsin and Minnesota come to Columbus April 5 and 7, respecitvely, before the Buckeyes host Purdue April 12 and Indiana April 14.
The rest of the regular season schedule is packed with familiar faces as the Big 10 season is underway. OSU will host Wisconsin, Minnesota, Purdue and Indiana, followed by a game at Northwestern and one at Illinois. The regular season closes with road matches at Northwestern (April 19) and Illinois (April 21).
The Big Ten Tournament will be the final weekend of April, with the winner earning the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Championship format has been changed, with a super regional round added. The 64-team bracket will be announced April 29 and the first and second rounds will be held at campus sites May 3-5. The 16 teams advancing from the first weekend will participate in a two team super-regional at the top seed’s institution May 10 or 11. The eight teams advancing from each super-regional will travel to Orlando for the team finals May 16-19.
