No. 14 Buckeyes Rally for Road Win over No. 13 Sooners

Friday, January 19

Norman, Okla.

6:00 PM ET

Ohio State

Oklahoma

No. 14 Buckeyes Rally for Road Win over No. 13 Sooners

1/19/2024 10:29:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 14 Ohio State women's tennis team kicked off its dual season with a come-from-behind win on the road against No. 13 Oklahoma, 4-3, Friday evening in Norman, Okla. The Buckeyes were down 3-0 after dropping the doubles point and the first two singles matches. Irina Cantos Siemers and Sydni Ratliff (in three sets) put the Buckeyes on the board and freshmen Audrey Spencer and Luciana Perry both won in three sets to clinch the Ohio State victory.

Quoting head coach Melissa Schaub
"I could not be prouder of what we did out there today! To have it come down to two freshmen in their first dual match in that kind of environment was an unbelievable effort. It was great to watch them go through it together and step up with the match on the line. This is a special group and hopefully the team can enjoy this one!

"We were down 3-0 and our captain [Irina Cantos Siemers] got us on the board first in a big way. Sydni [Ratliff] was able to come back from a set behind to pull it to 3-2. We stayed solid and believed in each other. That's what it is all about."

The Short Story
The Sooners took the doubles point with wins on court two and three. After Oklahoma posted victories on courts five and four for a 3-0 lead, just one point from the team win, Irina Cantos Siemers picked up a point for the Buckeyes with a straight-set win at No. 1 singles. Sydni Ratliff rallied from a set down on court three for a 3-2 match.

There were two matches remaining after Ratliff's victory, with Ohio State needing both for the win and freshmen on both courts for the Scarlet and Gray. On court two, Luciana Perry had just won a tiebreaker to force a third set and her classmate Audrey Spencer was ahead 3-0 in the third set. Spencer went on to prevail 7-5, winning the final two games, to tie the match at three. Perry took her third set 6-4, with three straight games, to clinch the Buckeye victory.

How it Happened

The Sooners won 6-3 on courts two and three to clinch the doubles point. Court one was abandoned with the teams tied at four.
Oklahoma posted straight-set wins on courts five and four to take a 3-0 lead.
No. 15-ranked Irina Cantos Siemers won 6-2, 6-4 on court one vs. No. 72 Alina Shcherbinina for a 3-1 match. The Buckeye captain was down 2-4 in the second set but won the last four games for the match.
Junior Sydni Ratliff rallied for a three-set win on court three for the second Buckeye point. Against Chloe Noel, Ratliff dropped the first set 6-2. She lost just three games the rest of the way, with 6-2 and 6-1 set wins, to draw Ohio State within one.
On court six, freshman Audrey Spencer won the first set vs. No. 112-ranked Ava Catanzarite but dropped the second, 6-3. In the third, Spencer jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Sooner won four games in a row. The Buckeyes tied the match at four with a win on the no-ad point and then went ahead 5-4. Catanzarite won the next game for 5-all, but Spencer pushed ahead 6-5 with another no-ad point and then closed it out to tie the team score at three.
The match came down to court two, where Buckeye freshman Luciana Perry, ranked 85th, faced No. 16 Florencia Urrutia. The Sooner claimed the first set, 6-1. In the second, Perry was ahead 5-2 before the Sooner won four games in a row for a 6-5 lead. Perry claimed the final game for a tiebreaker and then forced a third set with a 7-5 win in the breaker. In the third. Perry was up 3-1 but Urrutia won three games in a row to go ahead 4-3. The Buckeye took control from there, winning the final three games and clinching the match on the no-ad point with a 6-4 third-set win.

Up Next
The Buckeyes will take on No. 5 Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. ET Sunday in Stillwater, Okla.

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The Results
No. 14 Ohio State 4, No. 13 Oklahoma 3
Jan. 19, 2024 – Headington Family Tennis Center – Norman, Okla.

Singles
1. No. 15 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) def. No. 72 Alina Shcherbinina (OU) 6-2, 6-4
2. No. 85 Luciana Perry (OSU) def. No. 16 Florencia Urrutia (OU) 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
3. Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Chloe Noel (OU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
4. Dana Guzman (OU) def. Teah Chavez (OSU) 7-5, 6-0
5. Julia Garcia Ruiz (OU) def. Shelly Bereznyak (OSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Audrey Spencer (OSU) def. No. 112 Ava Catanzarite (OU) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5

Doubles
1. Sydni Ratliff/Luciana Perry (OSU) vs. No. 2 Dana Guzman/Alina Shcherbinina (OU), unf., 4-4
2. Chloe Noel/Julia Garcia Ruiz (OU) def. Irina Cantos Siemers/Audrey Spencer (OSU) 6-3
3. Romana Cisovska/Roisin Gilheany (OU) def. Madeline Atway/Teah Chavez (OSU) 6-3

Match Notes:
Ohio State 1-0; National ranking #14
Oklahoma 2-1; National ranking #13
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,4,1,3,6,2) A-277