Redbirds Fall To No. 10 Ohio State In First Round of NCAA Championship

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Illinois State gave No. 10 seed Ohio State a scare in doubles play, but the Buckeyes eventually prevailed and went on to secure a 4-0 win over the Redbirds Saturday at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio, in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship.

"I'm so proud of our team today they did a great job against a very good Ohio State team," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "We played especially well in the doubles and knew we could compete there heading into the match. We were just a couple of points away from really putting the pressure on them. It was tough out there in singles and there some good matches, even if the final scores didn't show it. I'm really excited for them to see what the next level is and come back next year, work even harder and find ourselves in the NCAA Tournament again."

In doubles action, the Buckeyes took the early advantage with a win on court No. 2, but the Redbirds tied things up at 1-1 when Laura Fitzgerald and Alexandra Abyasova defeated OSU's No. 3 team of Kathleen Jones and Luna Dormet by a score of 6-2. That left the doubles point to the action on court No. 1 as OSU's Isabelle Boulais and Kolie Allen outlasted Tijana Zlatanovic and Tara Damnjanovic, 6-4, to secure the doubles point. 

The Buckeyes got out a strong start in singles action, with each player winning the first set. Zlatanovic and Abyasova were both leading in the second sets, when the match was clinched by OSU with wins at No. 5, No. 6 and No. 3. The NCAA appearance for the Redbirds was their fifth in program history and their second since 2019.

Final Results: No. 10 Ohio State (4), Illinois State (0)

Singles competition
1. #13 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) vs. Tijana Zlatanovic (ILS) 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
2. #41 Isabelle Boulais (OSU) vs. Alexandra Abyasova (ILS) 6-0, 2-4, unfinished
3. #67 Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Maria Potsi (ILS) 6-1, 6-1
4. Kolie Allen (OSU) vs. Tara Damnjanovic (ILS) 6-2, 5-1, unfinished
5. Shelly Bereznyak (OSU) def. Penelope Abreu (ILS) 6-0, 6-0
6. Luna Dormet (OSU) def. Elena Jankulovska (ILS) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Isabelle Boulais/Kolie Allen (OSU) def. Tijana Zlatanovic/Tara Damnjanovic (ILS) 6-4
2. #43 Irina Cantos Siemers/Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Maria Potsi/Penelope Abreu (ILS) 6-1
3. Alexandra Abyasova/Laura Fitzgerald (ILS) def. Kathleen Jones/Luna Dormet (OSU) 6-2

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