Nishino Clinches NCAA Berth, Wins Title at ITA Midwest Regionals

Thursday, October 16

Champaign, Ill.

Ohio State

ITA Midwest Regional Championships

Nishino Clinches NCAA Berth, Wins Title at ITA Midwest Regionals

10/17/2025 7:29:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Tournament Central WTEN: ITA Midwest Regional Results 2025

Sophomore earned spot after advancing to final

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sophomore Nao Nishino of the Ohio State women's tennis team won the ITA Midwest Regional Championship Tuesday in Urbana, Ill. As a finalist, the sophomore also earned a berth in the NCAA Singles Championship.

Nishino defeated Michigan's Emily Sartz-Lunde in the semifinals, 6-4, 6-3, Monday for her fifth win in a row. Tuesday, she dropped just one game in each set to defeat Bianca Molnar of Notre Dame, 6-1, 6-1. She did not lose a set in her tournament run.

It was the second ITA regional singles title in program history, and the second in a row, after Luciana Perry won the program's first crown a season ago (also with a 6-1, 6-1 victory). Miho Kowase and Anna Sanford (2016) and Irina Cantos Siemers and Sydni Ratliff (2022) were ITA Midwest Regional doubles champions.

Nishino is the third Buckeye to clinch a spot in this fall's NCAA singles tournament, joining Perry and Teah Chavez, who earned their bids at the ITA All-American Championships last month.

In all, seven Buckeyes competed in singles, along with three doubles teams, in the ITA Midwest Regional. The tournament had a 64 player singles qualifying draw, with a 64 player singles main draw and 64 team doubles main draw.

Main Draw Singles
Nao Nishino did not drop a set through her six singles wins, including three shutout sets. The No. 4 seed won in straight sets against DePaul, Illinois and Michigan State to open the tournament. In the quarterfinals, the Buckeye topped a No. 9-16 seed from Notre Dame, 6-0, 7-6 (4) and Nishino then was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over No. 2 seed Emily Sartz-Lunde of Michigan. In the final, Nishino posted a 6-1, 6-1 win over Notre Dame's Bianca Molnar.

Freshman Hephzibah Oluwadare won her first three matches in straight sets, topping players from Wisconsin, Northwestern (a 9-16 seed) and Notre Dame (the No. 7 seed). In the quarterfinals, Oluwadare fell to Michigan's Sartz-Lunde in three sets.

In the first round, Alessia Cau dropped her match in three sets and Audrey Spencer, Sopia Cisse-Ignatiev and Flora Johnson lost their matches to fall to the consolation bracket. Johnson picked up a win in consolation play.

Main Draw Doubles
The Buckeye tandem of Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev and Flora Johnson reached the quarterfinals before falling to the No. 2 seed from Notre Dame. Their run included an 8-6 win in round one over a team from Bowling Green before a shutout against Northern Illinois. In the Round of 16, the Buckeye team advanced with a victory against Southern Illinois in a tiebreaker.

The No. 3 seeded tandem of Nao Nishino and Hephzibah Oluwadare received a first round bye, followed by a shutout of a team from Illinois State. In the Round of 16, they fell in a tiebreaker to a Northwestern duo.

Audrey Spencer and Alessia Cau were the No. 7 seed but dropped their first match to a Northwestern tandem, 8-5.

Singles Qualifying
Megan Basil dropped her opening match in singles but picked up a victory in consolation.

ITA Midwest Regional Championships
Thursday, Oct. 16-Tuesday, Oct. 21
Urbana, Ill.

Singles Qualifying
R64: Issey Purser (Michigan State) def. Megan Basil (Ohio State), 6-1, 6-3
C: Megan Basil (Ohio State) def. Aiyana Abbott (Marquette), 6-1, 6-3

Main Draw Doubles
R64: [9] Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev/Flora Johnson (Ohio State) def. Kiera Taylor/Konstantina Adamopoulou (BGSU), 8-6
R32: [9] Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev/Flora Johnson (Ohio State) def. Theodora Kousiou/Irmak Budak (Northern Illinois), 8-0
R16: [9] Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev/Flora Johnson (Ohio State) def. Stefaniya Ankina/Margaux Guibal Britt (SIU), 8-7 (2)
QF: [2] Bojana Pozder/Bianca Molnar (Notre Dame) def. [9] Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev/Flora Johnson (Ohio State), 8-1

R64: [3] Nao Nishino/Hephzibah Oluwadare (Ohio State) BYE
R32: [3] Nao Nishino/Hephzibah Oluwadare (Ohio State) def. Elizabeth Isyanov/Risa Ueno (Illinois State), 8-0
R16: [9] Mika Dagan Fruchtman/Neena Feldman (Northwestern) def. [3] Nao Nishino/Hephzibah Oluwadare (Ohio State), 8-7 (6)

R64: Maia Loureiro/Marelie Raath (Northwestern) def. [7] Audrey Spencer/Alessia Cau (Ohio State) 8-5

Main Draw Singles
R64: [4] Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. Yasemin Pehlivan (DePaul), 6-3, 6-3
R32: [4] Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. Elizabeth Isyanov (Illinois), 6-0, 6-1
R16: [4] Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. [9] Amara Brahmhatt (Michigan State), 6-0, 6-3
QF: [4] Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. [9] Sophia Holod (Notre Dame), 6-0, 7-6 (4)
SF: [4] Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. [2] Emily Sartz-Lunde (Michigan), 6-4, 6-3
F: [4] Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. Bianca Molnar (Notre Dame), 6-1, 6-1

R64: Hephzibah Oluwadare (Ohio State) def. Parker Christensen (Wisconsin), 6-2, 6-3
R32: Hephzibah Oluwadare (Ohio State) def. [9] Neena Feldman (Northwestern), 6-1, 6-4
R16: Hephzibah Oluwadare (Ohio State) def. [7] Bojana Pozder (Notre Dame), 7-5, 6-4
QF: [2] Emily Sartz-Lunde (Michigan) def. Hephzibah Oluwadare (Ohio State), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

R64: Bianca Molnar (Notre Dame) def. [5] Audrey Spencer (Ohio State), 6-4, 6-1

R64: Ellie Blackford (Michigan State) def. [9] Alessia Cau (Ohio State), 6-7 (4), 6-2, 7-5

R64: Jessica Bernales (Michigan) def. Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State), 6-3, 6-2

R64: Margot Phanthala (Northwestern) def. Flora Johnson (Ohio State), 6-1, 6-3

Consolation Singles
Flora Johnson (Ohio State) def. Hannah Smith (DePaul), 7-5, 6-1
Tia Clemens (BGSU) def. Megan Basil (Ohio State), 7-5, 7-5
Lana Caculovic (Illinois State) def. Audrey Spencer (Ohio State), 7-5, 6-3