COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 9 Ohio State women’s tennis team will take on two Big Ten foes in Columbus this weekend, hosting No. 16 Wisconsin at 6 p.m. Friday and Minnesota at 11 a.m. Sunday. The homestand wraps up at 3 p.m. March 24 vs. Purdue. Admission and parking are free for all regular season home matches.
The Buckeyes enter the weekend 8-5 (1-0 B1G), with the Badgers 12-2 (3-0 B1G). The Gophers are 5-7 and will play at Penn State Friday before heading to Columbus Sunday.
Both matches will be inside the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. Live video and scoring from the matches will be available HERE.
Buckeyes vs. Badgers
- Ohio State is 21-31 all-time vs. Wisconsin but has won the last 18 matches between the teams.
- Last season, the Buckeyes posted a 5-2 road win over the Badgers in the regular season and then won 4-0 in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament in Iowa.
- Wisconsin is No. 16 in the ITA rankings this week. Ava Markham is No. 56 in singles, with Maria Sholokhova No. 104 and Xinyu Cai No. 107. Markham and Shlolokhova are ranked 54th in doubles.
- Wisconsin is 12-2 on the year and defeated Rutgers 5-2 in a neutral site Big Ten match vs. Rutgers Wednesday in New Orleans. The Badgers also posted wins in Big Ten play over both Minnesota and Iowa in Minneapolis. Wisconsin enters the weekend match on a nine-match winning streak.
Buckeyes vs. Gophers
- The Buckeyes are 26-25 all-time vs. the Gophers, with a 17-1 record in the last 18 meetings between the teams.
- The squads met twice last year. The Buckeyes posted a 4-0 road win April 15 and then won by the same score in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals April 29 in Iowa City.
- The Gophers are 5-7 on the year and 0-3 in the Big Ten, with losses to Nebraska, Wisconsin and Iowa.
In the Rankings
- Ohio State is ninth in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings this week. The squad has been in the Top 10 since the start of computer rankings.
- The Buckeyes have wins against six teams currently in the Top 25 – No. 6 Georgia, No. 8 Auburn, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 17 Oklahoma State, No. 20 Old Dominion and No. 22 Oklahoma.
- Three Buckeyes and a doubles team were in last week’s ITA rankings. Irina Cantos Siemers was 20, Sydni Ratliff was No. 28 and Shelly Bereznyak was No. 94. As a doubles team, Cantos Siemers and Ratliff were ranked 17th.
Buckeye This and That
- Ohio State traveled to California for two matches over Spring Break. The Buckeyes were clipped by UCLA, 4-3, Sunday before their Tuesday match vs. No. 7 Pepperdine was canceled because of inclement weather.
- The Buckeyes are 7-1 at home this year, with the only loss to NC State, 4-3.
- Ohio State opened Big Ten play with a 7-0 win over Penn State March 4. The Buckeyes are the defending Big Ten regular season champion and were 11-0 in B1G play in 2022.
- Shelly Bereznyak and Lucia Marzal are both 9-1 in singles dual matches this season. Marzal is on a six-match winning streak that started against Michigan Feb. 12.
- Irina Cantos Siemers has notched seven singles wins, with Kolie Allen and Sydni Ratliff each recording six.
- In doubles, the tandem of Allen and Danielle Willson is first for the squad with a 5-2 mark in dual matches.
- Allen has a team-high seven victories in doubles dual play.
The Schedule Ahead
- Ohio State will host Purdue at 3 p.m. March 24 before traveling for a match at Northwestern March 26.
- Admission is free to all regular season home matches and live video and scoring will be available.
