No. 19 Buckeyes Ready for Road Matches at Michigan and Michigan State
3/28/2019 4:46:49 PM | Women's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State women’s tennis team hits the road for two Big Ten Conference matches this weekend. The No. 19 Buckeyes will face Michigan State (11-8, 2-3) at 5 p.m. Friday in East Lansing and Michigan (9-4, 5-0 B1G) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Ann Arbor. Ohio State enters the weekend on an 11-match winning streak and is 14-2 overall this year, with a 3-0 mark in Big Ten play.
Ohio State at Michigan State: Video | Live Scoring
Ohio State at Michigan: Live Scoring/Video
The Buckeyes This Spring
Ohio State is 14-2 on the year and 3-0 in Big Ten play after a win at home against Iowa last Sunday. The squad is 8-1 at home, with a 3-0 road record and 3-1 mark in neutral site matches.
Freshman Kolie Allen is first on the squad with 14 dual match wins, with 12 matches on court three. Isabelle Boulais and Shiori Fukuda each have 12 victories, followed by sophomore Luna Dormet with 11.
Boulais and Fukuda have a team-high eight doubles wins, with Fukuda and Dormet pairing up for a 7-3 ledger this spring. The duo of junior Danielle Wolf and Dormet has six doubles victories.
Buckeyes in the Rankings
The most recent ITA rankings were released Tuesday, with Ohio State No. 19. Big Ten teams joining Ohio State in the Top 50 were No. 24 Northwestern, No. 26 Michigan and No. 45 Wisconsin.
In the singles rankings released last week, Boulais was No. 55 and Allen was is No. 61 and Fukuda came in at No. 78. In doubles, Fukuda and Boulais were ranked No. 35.
In this week’s USTA rankings, Ohio State is ninth.
The Michigan State Spartans
The Spartans are 11-8 on the year. The squad has a 2-3 Big Ten ledger, with home wins vs. Nebraska and Iowa, a home loss to Wisconsin and road losses to Indiana and Michigan.
Last year, Ohio State and Michigan State met in Columbus, with the Buckeyes posting a 5-2 victory over the Spartans. All-time, the Buckeyes are 33-14 vs. Michigan State, with wins in the last three matches. The last time the teams met in East Lansing was March 23, 2014, a 5-2 Buckeye win. The teams did not face off in conference matches in 2016 and 2017.
The Michigan Wolverines
Michigan enters the weekend 9-4 overall and is 5-0 in Big Ten play with wins over Michigan State, Nebraska, Iowa, Purdue and Minnesota. Last weekend the Wolverines shut out the Gophers 7-0 at home. The Wolverines host Penn State Friday before taking on the Buckeyes Sunday.
In the rankings, Kate Fahey is No. 4 in singles and Chiara Lommer is No. 24. Wolverine Brienne Minor is ranked No. 36. The doubles tandem of Kate Fahey and Giulia Paironeis is slotted 72nd in doubles.
Last season, the Wolverines won 4-3 in Columbus, ending a three-match winning streak for the Buckeyes in the series. The teams met in nonconference matches during the regular season in 2016 and ’17. The last match in Ann Arbor was Jan. 31, 2016, a 4-2 Ohio State nonconference win.
Last Time Out
The Buckeyes improved to 3-0 in the Big Ten with a road win at Nebraska and home victory over Iowa last weekend. Ohio State won both matches 5-2.
Against the Huskers, the Buckeyes won the doubles point and then added four straight-set singles victories. The match vs. the Hawkeyes was the first for the Buckeyes outside in Columbus this season. The Hawkeyes claimed the doubles point, but the Buckeyes posted five singles wins, including four in straight sets, for the victory.
On the weekend, Kolie Allen led the Buckeyes with two wins in both singles and doubles, pairing with Andrea Ballinger on the doubles court. Shiori Fukuda and Mary Beth Hurley were both 2-0 in singles.
Looking Ahead
The Buckeyes will be at home for their next four matches. The squad will face Wisconsin April 5, Minnesota April 7, Purdue April 12 and Indiana April 14. The matches are scheduled for the Varsity Tennis Courts outdoors. In the case of inclement weather, the matches will be moved inside the Varsity Tennis Center. Admission is free at both facilities. Check OhioStateBuckeyes.com and the Ohio State women’s tennis social media pages on the day of the match for the location.
