COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the second time in three seasons, the Illinois State women's tennis team has punched its ticket to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship and will face off against host and No. 10 seed Ohio State on Saturday at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio. First serve is set for noon CT and the match can be viewed live via the TennisONE app.
Ohio State is 19-5 on the year and won the Big Ten regular season title with an 11-0 record in conference matches. The squad reached the Big Ten Tournament final last weekend.
The Redbirds (17-6) are making their fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament, after winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title over Drake to earn the league's automatic berth. The Redbirds are led by MVC all-conference singles selections Tijana Zlatanovic, Maria Potsi and Penelope Abreu and feature a pair of All-MVC doubles teams.
The Buckeyes (20-5) will make their 18th overall NCAA Tournament appearance when they match up against the Redbirds. Ohio State went a perfect 11-0 in Big Ten play to capture the outright Big Ten regular season title.
Ohio State is 4-0 all-time vs. Illinois State, with the last match happening in 2000. The Buckeyes won 8-1 in January 2000 and January 1999, 5-1 on the road in February 1991 and 7-2 in a neutral site match in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in March 1986.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
