No. 16 Buckeyes Host No. 6 Texas and Notre Dame This Weekend
1/31/2019 2:06:18 PM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 31, 2019
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 16-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team hosts two matches in Columbus this week to open its home schedule. The squad will take on No. 6 Texas at 6 p.m. Friday and Notre Dame at noon Sunday. Both matches will be played at the Varsity Tennis Center (880 West Henderson Road), with free admission.
Last Time Out
Ohio State posted two wins at ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Atlanta, beating No. 13 and host Georgia Tech and No. 25 Kentucky, to earn a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
The Buckeyes downed Georgia Tech, 4-0, last Saturday. The Buckeyes won two of three doubles matches and three singles matches for the team victory. Kolie Allen and Danielle Wolf led the Buckeyes with victories in singles and doubles.
Against Kentucky, Ohio State won the doubles point for a 1-0 lead, with Shiori Fukuda and Boulais clinching the point in a tiebreaker, and the Wildcats tied the match with a straight set singles victory. The remaining five singles matches all went to a third set, with the Buckeyes winning three, including two come from behind victories. Allen put the Buckeyes ahead and Mary Beth Hurley and Boulais followed, each rallying to win in a third set to clinch the team victory.
On the weekend, Boulais and Allen led the Buckeyes with three wins each. Allen was 2-0 in singles and 1-1 in doubles, while Boulais was 1-0 in singles and had two doubles victories. Fukuda paired with Boulais to go 2-0 in doubles.
The Buckeyes will be making the fourth appearance at ITA National Indoors in program history. The 2017 squad posted home wins during ITA Kick-Off Weekend and the 2016 squad notched two road victories to advance. The team’s first appearance was in 2001.
The 2019 tournament will be held Feb. 8-11 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center and Seattle Tennis Club in Washington. The field includes winners from 15 sites around the country, along with host Washington. Ohio State and Northwestern will represent the Big Ten.
Buckeyes in the Rankings
As a team, Ohio State is currently No. 16 in the ITA rankings, one of three Top 25 Big Ten teams (No. 12 Northwestern, No. 13 Michigan). The Buckeyes moved into the rankings after their two wins last weekend.
The Buckeye Opponents
Texas
- 6 Texas is 2-0 on the year. The squad opened the season with wins over Middle Tennessee State and Baylor during ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Austin.
- Petra Granic is ranked 53th in singles by the ITA for the Longhorns.
- Last year, the Buckeyes and Longhorns met in Austin March 4, 2018, with Texas winning, 4-0. The other meeting between the teams was April 4, 2015, a 4-1 Ohio State victory on the road.
Notre Dame
- The Irish kicked off the year with wins over Western Michigan and Bowling Green, sweeping both, 7-0. The team topped Pitt last weekend, 6-1, to improve to 3-0 on the year.
- Ohio State and Notre Dame have met 22 times, including each year from 1998-2010, with the Irish ahead 18-5.
The Buckeyes This Year
- Prior to dual match season, Ohio State competed in six tournament during 2018-19, with both flighted and hidden dual formats.
- Overall, sophomore Luna Dormet leads the team with 12 singles wins, followed by junior Danielle Wolf with 11 and sophomore Mary Beth Hurley with 10.
- Dormet is also first with 12 doubles wins, followed by Shiori Fukuda with 11 and Hurley and Wolf with 10 each.
Buckeye Newcomers
Four new faces are on the Ohio State roster this year. Luna Dormet is a sophomore transfer, while Kolie Allen, Isabelle Boulais and Kathleen Jones are freshmen. Hurley is a native of Lombard, Illinois, Dormet hails from Tours, France, Boulais comes from Mississauga, Ontario and Jones is from Lewis Center, Ohio.
Dormet posted her first Ohio State win and Boulais claimed her first collegiate victory at the Furman Debbie Southern Fall Classic in September. Allen, who was injured in the fall, notched her first victory as a Buckeye at the Michigan Invitational earlier this month.
Looking Ahead
Next up, the Buckeyes will head west for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship Feb. 8-11. The draws and schedule of play will be released Feb. 6. Hosted by the University of Washington, matches will be played at the Nordstrom Tennis Center on the UW campus and at the Seattle Tennis Club.
Following National Indoors, the Buckeyes will host Cleveland State and Akron Feb. 20 before heading to Arizona for matches vs. Arizona State and TCU Feb. 23 and Feb. 24, respectively.
