Buckeyes in Action at ITA All-American Championships

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- At the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, N.C., Luciana Perry claimed the singles title and was one of three Buckeyes to earn a berth into the NCAA Championships, joined by Nao Nishino and Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev. Perry and Flora Johnson also finished as the runner-up in doubles and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Nishino was a singles semifinalist, while Cisse-Ignatiev reached the final of the consolation bracket after falling in the main draw Round of 16. In doubles, Audrey Spencer and Cisse-Ignatiev advanced to the consolation draw final after defeating their teammates Alessia Cau and Nishino in the semifinals.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL (draws/ video/stats links)

The ITA All-American Championships are the first chance for players to earn a berth into this fall's NCAA singles and doubles championships. Ten singles players (eight main draw quarterfinalists and two feed-in consolation finalists) and five doubles teams (four main draw semifinalists and the consolation champion) will secure their spots. At last year's event, both Luciana Perry and Teah Chavez advanced to the singles semifinals to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament.

Main Draw/Consolation
Singles Round of 64/Doubles Round of 32 (Sept. 23)
Three Buckeyes posted first-round wins to open the singles main draw. No. 2 seed and No. 3-ranked Luciana Perry rallied for a three-set win against No. 35 Eszter Meri of Texas (4-6, 6-4, 6-4), while No. 37-ranked Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev topped No. 12 seed and No. 20-ranked Ziva Falkner of Pepperdine, 7-6 (4), 7-5. Nao Nishino, ranked 39th, was a straight-set winner against Georgia's Patricija Paukstyte. No. 115 Audrey Spencer, who earned her spot out of the qualifying draw, fell to No. 95 Nicole Khirin of North Carolina in a close match, 7-5, 6-4.

In doubles, No. 3-ranked and the third seed Flora Johnson and Perry came from behind to top No. 33 Martina Genis Salas and Katie Rolls of Virginia, 2-6, 6-2, 12-10. No. 28 Cisse-Ignatiev and Spencer fell, 6-4, 6-4, to the No. 28-ranked team from Texas A&M. No. 44 Alessia Cau and Nishino rallied to force a super tiebreaker but fell to the No. 39-ranked team from Oklahoma, 6-4, 3-6, 10-4.

Singles Round of 32/Doubles Round of 16 (Sept. 24)
Ohio State was a perfect 7-0 on Tuesday at the ITA All-Americans, including four main draw wins.

The Buckeyes were 4-0 in singles, with three main draw wins (all against players from North Carolina) and a consolation victory.

Luciana Perry was a straight-set winner against Anna Frey, 6-2, 7-6. The No. 2 seed, Perry won the final four games of the first set and the last two games of the second, with a break at the end, to advance.

Nao Nishino dropped just five games against No. 13 seed Tatum Evans in a 6-3, 6-2 win. After losing her first set in a tiebreak vs. Alexis Nguyen, Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev evened the match with a 6-4 second set victory and rolled to a 6-1 win in the third.

In consolation play, Audrey Spencer was a 6-4, 6-1 winner against Julia Zhu of Kentucky.

Ohio State was 3-0 in doubles on the day. In the main draw, No. 3 seed Perry and Flora Johnson dropped the first set against a team from NC State 6-1, but took the second, 6-4, winning four of the final five games, and then opened a 6-1 lead in the tiebreaker en route to a 10-3 win to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.

In doubles consolation, the tandem of No. 28 Cisse-Ignatiev and Spencer posted a straight-set victory over a duo from Virginia, 7-6 (4), 6-4. Nishino and Alessia Cau, ranked 44th, advanced in an injury walkover against a team from Cal.

Singles Round of 16 (Sept. 25)
With straight-set singles wins, Luciana Perry and Nao Nishino secured spots in the NCAA Championship. Perry, the No. 2 seed, downed Emma Dong of Georgia, 6-3, 6-1. Nishino upset No. 5 seed Mia Slama of NC State, 7-5, 6-4. In the first set Nishino broke for a 6-5 lead and served it out. In set two, the Buckeye won the final three games, holding on the deciding point, to advance. Perry is now a four-time NCAA singles qualifier and Nishino wil be making a second straight appearance.

In the main draw, Buckeye Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev fell to Duke's Aspen Schuman, 6-4, 6-4, to fall to the consolation bracket.

Audrey Spencer's loss to No. 11 seed Monika Ekstrand of Stanford ended her run in the consolation draw.

Singles Quarterfinals (Sept. 25)
Luciana Perry and Nao Nishino reached the semifinals with a second win Friday. Perry topped Wisconsin's Ekaterina Ivanova, 7-5, 6-2, for a second straight semifinal appearance, while Nishino was up 2-0 vs. No. 4 seed Irina Balus of Duke before she retired because of injury.

Doubles Quarterfinals (Sept. 25)
No. 3 seed Luciana Perry and Flora Johnson secured a trip to the NCAA Championships, as they topped Furman's duo of Elle Warren and Lillie Murphy, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

In consolation play, the tandems of Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev and Audrey Spencer and Alessia Cau and Nao Nishino both advanced. Cau and Nishino rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 win over a team from Wisconsin, with Cisse-Ignatiev and Spencer coming from behind against Pepperdine for a 2-6, 6-3, 10-7 win. The Buckeye duos will meet for a spot in the final Saturday.

Singles Semifinals (Sept. 26)
Luciana Perry rallied to reach the final, downing Texas' No. 26-ranked Rose Marie Nijkamp, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Nao Nishino's run ended with a loss to Duke's Mimi Xu, 6-1, 7-5.

In consolation, Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev won two matches Saturday to reach the semifinals. She was a 6-4, 6-4 winner in the consolation quarterfinals over Pepperdine's No. 16 Anastasiia Grechkina and then defeated Baylor's No 53 Zuzanna Kubacha, 4-6, 4-0, ret.

Doubles Semifinals (Sept. 26)
Luciana Perry and Flora Johnson moved on to the doubles final with a 6-3, 4-6, 10-5 win against the No. 40-ranked team from Oklahoma.

In an all-Buckeye consolation semifinal, No. 28-ranked Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev and Audrey Spencer topped No. 44 Nao Nishino and Alessia Cau to reach the final and play for an NCAA berth.

Singles Finals/Consolation Semifinals (Sept. 27)
Luciana Perry, the tournament's No. 2 seed, rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win in the tournament final over No. 81-ranked Mimi Xu of Duke.

In the consolation semifinals, Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev won her match vs. North Carolina's No., 21-ranked Tatum Evans, the No. 13 seed, 7-6 (5), 6-3, to earn an NCAA berth. The consolation final was not played.

Doubles Finals (Sept. 27)
Both Luciana Perry and Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev returned to the court about an hour after their singles matches ended.

In the doubles main draw final, Perry and Flora Johnson fell to Virginia's No. 8 Maddy Zampardo and Susanna Maltby, the No. 6 seed, 6-0, 6-1.

In the consolation doubles final, Cisse-Ignatiev and Audrey Spencer rallied to force a tiebreaker, but fell, 6-4, 4-6, 10-4, vs. No. 33-ranked Martina Genis Salas and Katie Rolls of Virginia.

Qualifying (Sept. 21-22)
Audrey Spencer, ranked No. 115, won two three-set matches to clinch a spot in the main draw. In the first round, Spencer was a 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-4 winner against Sophia Webster of Vanderbilt. In round two vs. Duke's Claire An, the Buckeye dropped the first set 6-4 but rallied to take the second 6-4 and lost just one game in the third.

In doubles, the No. 44-ranked tandem of Alessia Cau and Nao Nishino won its first match in straight sets against a team from Columbia. In the second round, the Buckeyes came from a set down to force a super tiebreaker, but lost to the No. 76-ranked team from Wisconsin, 6-3, 1-6, 10-4.

Prequalifying (Sept. 19-20)
Alessia Cau was in the prequalifying singles draw. She dropped her first match in straight sets and battled to force a third set in her consolation match but fell, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

The Results
ITA All-American Championships
Sept. 21-27 – Cary, N.C.

Singles
Prequalifying
R1: Hiilani William (Indiana) def. Alessia Cau (Ohio State), 6-1, 6-0
C: Katie Spencer (Nebraska) def. Alessia Cau (Ohio State), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5

Qualifying
R1: No. 115 Audrey Spencer (Ohio State) def. Sophia Webster (Vandy), 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-4
R2: No. 115 Audrey Spencer (Ohio State) def. Claire An (Duke), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1

Main Draw
R64: No. 3/2 seed Luciana Perry (Ohio State) def. No. 35 Eszter Meri (Texas), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
R32: No. 3/2 seed Luciana Perry (Ohio State) def. Anna Frey (UNC), 6-2, 7-5
R16: No. 3/2 seed Luciana Perry (Ohio State) def. No. 54 Emma Dong (Georgia), 6-3, 6-2
QF: No. 3/2 seed Luciana Perry (Ohio State) def. No. 36 Ekaterina Ivanova (Wisconsin), 7-5, 6-2
SF: No. 3/2 seed Luciana Perry (Ohio State) def. No. 26/16 seed Rose Marie Mijkamp (Texas), 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
F: No. 3/2 seed Luciana Perry (Ohio State) def. No. 81 Mimi Xu (Duke), 6-2, 6-1

R64: No. 39 Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. Patricija Paukstyte (Georgia), 6-1, 6-3
R32: No. 39 Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. No. 21/13 Seed Tatum Evans (UNC), 6-3, 6-2
R16: No. 39 Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. No. 10/5 seed Mia Slama (NC State), 7-5, 6-4
QF: No. 39 Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. No. 7/4 seed Irina Balus (Duke), 2-0, ret. (inj.)
SF: No. 81 Mimi Xu (Duke) def. No. 39 Nao Nishino (Ohio State), 6-1, 7-5

R64: No. 37 Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State) def. No. 20/12 seed Ziva Falkner (Pepperdine), 7-6 (4), 7-5
R32: No. 37 Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State) def. No. 85 Alexis Nguyen (UNC), 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1
R16: No. 31 Aspen Schuman (Duke) def. No. 37 Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State), 6-4, 6-4

CR16: No. 37 Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State) def. No. 16/10 seed Anastasiia Grechkina (Pepperdine), 6-4, 6-4
CQF: No. 37 Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State) def. Zuzanna Kubacha (Baylor), 4-6, 4-0, ret. (inj.)
CSF: No. 37 Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State) def. No. 21/13 seed Tatum Evans (UNC), 7-6 (5), 6-3

R64: No. 95 Nicole Khirin (UNC) def. No. 115 Audrey Spencer (Ohio State), 7-5, 6-4
CR32Q: No. 115 Audrey Spencer (Ohio State) def. No. 56 Julia Zhu (Kentucky), 6-4, 6-1
CR32: No. 19/11 seed Monika Ekstrand (Stanford) def. No. 115 Audrey Spencer (Ohio State), 6-2, 6-2

Doubles
Qualifying
R1: No. 44 Alessia Cau/Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. No. 77 Kenzie Nguyen/Amy Lee (Columbia), 6-4, 6-3
R2: No. 76 Usui/Reynoldson (Wisconsin) def. No. 44 Alessia Cau/Nao Nishino (Ohio State), 6-3, 1-6, 10-4

Main Draw
R32: No. 3/3 seed Luciana Perry/Flora Johnson (Ohio State) def. No. 33 Martina Genis Salas/Katie Rolls (Virginia), 2-6, 6-2, 12-10
R16: No. 3/3 Seed Luciana Perry/Flora Johnson (Ohio State) def. Jasmine Conway/Amelie Smejkalova (NC State), 1-6, 6-4, 10-3
QF: No. 3/3 Seed Luciana Perry/Flora Johnson (Ohio State) def. Elle Warren/Lillie Murphy (Furman), 7-6 (5), 6-4
SF: No. 3/3 Seed Luciana Perry/Flora Johnson (Ohio State) def. No. 40 Salakthip Ounmang/Zoie Epps (Oklahoma), 6-3, 4-6, 10-6
F: No. 8/6 Seed Maddy Zampardo/Susanna Maltby (UNC) def. No. 3/3 Seed Luciana Perry/Flora Johnson (Ohio State), 6-0, 6-1

R32: No. 34 Kristina Paskauskas/Lexington Reed (Texas A&M) def. No. 28 Audrey Spencer/Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State), 6-4, 6-4
CR16: No. 28 Audrey Spencer/Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State) def. No. 52 Eugenia Zozaya Menendez/Shannon Lam (UVA), 7-6 (4), 6-4
CQF: No. 28 Audrey Spencer/Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State) def. No. 31 Chantal Sauvant/Anastasiia Grechkina (Pepperdine), 2-6, 6-3, 10-7
CSF: No. 28 Audrey Spencer/Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State) def. No. 44 Alessia Cau/Nao Nishino (Ohio State), 6-2, 6-4
CF: No. 33 Martina Genis Salas/Katie Rolls (UVA) def. No. 28 Audrey Spencer/Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State), 4-6, 6-4, 10-4

R32: No. 39 Sara Shumate/Gloriana Nahum (Oklahoma) def. No. 44 Alessia Cau/Nao Nishino (Ohio State), 6-4, 3-6, 10-4
CR16: No. 44 Alessia Cau/Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. Naomi Xu/Mao Mushika (Cal), Walkover
CQF: No. 44 Alessia Cau/Nao Nishino (Ohio State) def. No. 25 Lucie Urbanova/Ekaterina Ivanova (Wisconsin), 6-2, 6-1
CSF: No. 28 Audrey Spencer/Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State) def. No. 44 Alessia Cau/Nao Nishino (Ohio State), 6-2, 6-4

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