No. 11 Buckeyes Set to Host ITA Kickoff Matches
1/27/2022 5:09:21 PM | Women's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 11 Ohio State women’s tennis team will host ITA Kickoff Weekend matches this weekend in the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. Live video and scoring will be available for all four matches. In addition, Cracked Racquets will be providing play-by-play commentary on its YouTube stream and switching from site to site to create the “RedZone of college tennis” throughout the weekend, including coverage from Columbus.
ITA Kickoff Weekend Columbus Central
Saturday, the Buckeyes will take on No. 24 Oklahoma State in the first round at 10 a.m., with No. 21 LSU and No. 20 Tennessee meeting in the other match at 1 p.m. The winners (1 p.m.) and losers (10 a.m.) will meet on Sunday, with the site winner advancing to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
Admission and parking are free throughout the weekend. University and City of Columbus policies are to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. There are currently no concessions sales at Ohio State athletic events. Water will be available. Fans are not allowed to bring food or beverages into the facility. FACILITY POLICY UPDATES
The Buckeyes and the Columbus Teams
- Ohio State, ranked 11th this week, dropped two 4-3 heartbreakers last weekend on the road vs. Top 10 teams, falling to No. 6 Duke last Friday and No. 8 North Carolina State last Sunday. Those matches opened the Buckeyes’ dual match slate.
- 24 Oklahoma State is 1-0 this year after a 5-2 win at home over Princeton Jan. 19.
- LSU, ranked 21st, will start its dual match season Saturday in Columbus after its first two scheduled matches were postponed.
- 20 Tennessee is 2-0 on the year, with road wins over Charlotte (4-0) and Wake Forest (4-3) last weekend.
- Ohio State is 2-1 all-time vs. Oklahoma State, with the last matchup a 4-3 Buckeye victory at OSU in the second round of ITA Kickoff Weekend Jan. 26, 2020. Ohio State also notched a win in the 2017 ITA National Team Indoor Championship (4-3), with the Cowgirl win a 4-2 victory in the NCAA quarterfinals in 2016.
- The Buckeyes have a 1-2 record vs. LSU all-time. Ohio State won in Columbus in 2010, 5-2, and the Tigers won at home in 2012 (4-2). The first match was in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament, a 5-2 Tiger win.
- Against Tennessee, the Buckeyes are 5-13, but Ohio State has won the last three dual match between the squads, including a 6-1 victory in February 2016 in the last matchup.
Ranked Players and Teams in Columbus
Singles
No. 6 Irina Cantos Siemers (Ohio State)
No. 14 Rebeka Mertena (Tennessee)
No. 41 Tenika McGiffin (Tennessee)
No. 54 Safiya Carrington (LSU)
No. 55 Oona Orpana (Oklahoma State)
No. 56 Elza Tomase (Tennessee)
No. 72 Lucia Marzal (Ohio State)
No. 86 Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Oklahoma State)
No. 92 Ena Babic (LSU)
No. 114 Luna Dormet (Ohio State)
No. 123 Sydni Ratliff (Ohio State)
Doubles
No. 25 Ena Babic/Taylor Bridges (LSU)
No. 29 Irina Cantos Siemers/Sydni Ratliff (Ohio State)
No. 39 Tenika McGiffin/Olivia Symons (Tennessee)
No. 56 Ayumi Miyamoto/Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Oklahoma State)
ITA Kickoff Weekend
- This is the 12th time Ohio State will compete in ITA Kickoff Weekend (previously known as the ITA National Indoor Qualifier). This is the fourth time the Buckeyes are hosting Kickoff Weekend matches; the team was a host site in 2017, ’18 and ‘21.
- Ohio State has reached the ITA Team Indoor Championship five times in the last six years, including the last three seasons.
- Last year, Ohio State was 2-0 in Columbus to advance, defeating Syracuse 4-0 and Virginia 4-2.
- In 2020, the Buckeyes won the Stillwater, Okla., site, defeating Wake Forest, 4-0, in the first round and then topping host Oklahoma State, 4-3, to clinch a spot at ITA National Indoors.
- In 2019, the Buckeyes traveled to Atlanta with Georgia Tech as the site host. Ohio State opened its dual match season with a 4-0 victory against the Yellow Jackets and then downed Kentucky, 4-1, to advance.
- In 2018, Ohio State was a Kickoff Weekend site. The Buckeyes defeated Kansas, 4-1, in the first round before a 4-2 loss to Wake Forest in the championship match.
- In 2017, the Buckeyes advanced to National Indoors with 4-0 wins over Florida State and Alabama in Columbus.
- In 2016, the Buckeyes beat Pepperdine and TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, to earn a spot at National Indoors for the second time in program history.
- The Buckeyes’ other ITA Kickoff Weekend results include going 1-1 at Duke in 2009 and at Fresno State in 2010 and dropping two matches at Tennessee in 2011, at Florida State in 2012 and at Miami in 2014.
The Schedule Ahead
- The ITA National Team Indoor Championship will be held Feb. 11-14 in Madison, Wis., for the qualifying teams.
- If Ohio State and Princeton both do not earn a spot at National Indoors, the Buckeyes will host the Tigers Feb. 12 in Columbus.
- FULL SCHEDULE
