No. 15 Buckeyes Headed to Tennessee for ITA Kickoff Weekend

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 15-ranked Ohio State women's tennis team will be visiting Knoxville, Tenn., to compete in ITA Kickoff Weekend, hosted by the Tennessee Volunteers, Friday and Saturday.

On day one, the Buckeyes (2-0) will take on No. 10-ranked NC State (2-0) at 1 p.m. and No. 18-ranked Tennessee (2-0) will face Texas Tech (2-0) not before 4 p.m. Championship (not before 3:30 p.m.) and consolation (not before 6:30 p.m.) matches will take place Saturday (there are men's matches at 9 a.m. and noon to start the day). The weekend champion will advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship Feb. 7-10 in Evanston, Ill.

Live stats from Knoxville will be available HERE, with a live stream HERE.

Chavez Named B1G Athlete of the Week

Buckeye sophomore Teah Chavez was selected the Big Ten Athlete of the Week after going 2-0 in singles and picking up a doubles victory in the Buckeyes' two wins Monday.
On court two, Chavez was a 6-2, 6-0 winner against Cleveland State and she then dropped just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 victory vs. Bellarmine. She and Luciana Perry posted a 6-1 win on court two vs. the Vikings and led 5-3 against the Knights when the Buckeyes clinched the doubles point.

Ohio State and ITA Kickoff Weekend

This is the 15th time Ohio State will compete in ITA Kickoff Weekend (previously known as the ITA National Indoor Qualifier) and it is the first time since 2020 the Buckeyes are traveling for the event.
All-time, the Buckeyes are 19-9 in Kickoff Weekend matches.
Ohio State has won two ITA Kickoff Weekend matches to reach the ITA Team Indoor Championship eight times in the last nine years, including each of the last six seasons.
The squad advanced its last three times playing Kickoff Weekend on the road – in 2020 at Oklahoma State, in 2019 at Georgia Tech and in 2016 at TCU.
Each season, the ITA Kickoff Weekend field is determined by the ITA Kickoff Weekend Draft which is held in the summer months after the dual-match season. The Top 14 ranked teams in the final ITA Rankings of the season automatically serve as hosts. In the draft, teams and coaches have the opportunity to choose where they would like to play. The picks start with the No. 15 ranked team and conclude with the No. 60 ranked team (or until all 60 spots are filled).
The Buckeyes hosted the last four seasons. Last year, Ohio State prevailed 4-0 over both Notre Dame and Arizona State to advance. In 2023, the Buckeyes defeated Old Dominion 4-0 and Tennessee 4-2 to advance to National Indoors. In 2022, Ohio State downed Oklahoma State 4-1 and Tennessee 4-0. In 2021, Ohio State was 2-0 in Columbus, topping 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 host Oklahoma State, 4-3, in the championship match to clinch a spot at ITA National Indoors. In 2019, the Buckeyes traveled to Atlanta with Georgia Tech as the site host, downing the Yellow Jackets 4-0 in the first round and then topping Kentucky 4-1 to advance.
Ohio State was a 2018 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. The Buckeyes advanced in 2017 with 4-0 wins over Florida State and Alabama in Columbus.
The 2016 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.

Ohio State vs. the Tennessee Kickoff Weekend Teams

Ohio State and North Carolina State have met three times with the Wolfpack ahead, 2-1. The teams last met in Columbus in 2023.
All-time, Ohio State is 7-13 vs. Tennessee. The Buckeyes and Volunteers last met in 2023 with an Ohio State victory, 4-2, in the ITA Kickoff Weekend Columbus championship match.
Buckeye head coach Melissa Schaub is a 2006 graduate of Tennessee. She was a four-year letterwinner for the Lady Vols, where she was ranked as high as No. 2 in doubles and earned All-America honors.
Ohio State is 1-1 against Texas Tech. The last matchup was during the 2017 NCAA Tournament matchup, with a 4-0 Buckeye win in the quarterfinals.

Buckeye This and That

Ohio State has three players ranked in singles in the ITA rankings. Luciana Perry is No. 8, with Audrey Spencer No. 46 and Sydni Ratliff No. 84.
Ohio State opened the year with two home matches Monday. The Buckeyes posted a clean sweep of the doubleheader, beating both Cleveland State and Bellarmine 7-0.
The Buckeyes did not drop a set in the two victories. Teah Chavez, Nao Nishino, Perry and Dani Schoenly were all 2-0 in singles on the day. Nishino and Audrey Spencer teamed up for a 2-0 doubles mark to lead the way.
Schoenly, Nishino, Megan Basil and Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev all posted their first collegiate dual match singles victories Monday.
In singles, Perry is first for the Buckeyes with a 16-4 overall record this season. Chavez is 15-7, with Nishino 14-5. Alessia Cau (13-7) and Audrey Spencer (13-8) both have 13 wins and Shelly Bereznyak has 12 singles victories.
In doubles, Spencer, Schoenly and Nishino lead the team with 11 wins overall each.
Ohio State was 20-8 last season, finishing second in the Big Ten regular season and as the runner-up in the conference tournament. The Buckeyes were the No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament, ultimately falling to Vanderbilt in the second round.

The Schedule Ahead

Next up, Ohio State will travel to take on No. 7 Duke Feb.1 in Durham, N.C.
From February through April, the Buckeyes will host nine regular season matches in Columbus, with seven road matches.
The next home match is at noon Feb. 23 vs. No. 4 Oklahoma State.
Admission and parking are free for all regular season matches in the Ty Tucker Tennis Center.

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