URBANA, Ill. – The Illinois women's tennis team fell to No. 4 Ohio State on Friday, 7-0. The Fighting Illini move to 11-11 on the season, with a 5-3 mark in Big Ten play, while Ohio State improves to 22-2 and 8-0 in conference play.
"Credit to Ohio State, I thought they played well," said head coach Evan Clark. "They jumped on us and didn't really let us breathe at all. There is a reason they are No. 4 as the country and have been ranked as high as No. 2, so credit to them. They gave us a little sliver in No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, it was really tight, but I think we had a chance at both of those spots to win the doubles point. We didn't take advantage of it, so that's on us. After that, in singles we dug ourselves a lot of holes in first sets, and against a team like Ohio State it's tough to dig yourself out.
The Buckeyes won the doubles point, taking the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches. At the No. 1 spot, the 26th-ranked duo of Fancesca Di Lorenzo and Miho Kowase defeated Louise Kwong and Ines Vias, 6-1. Sandy Niehaus and Olivia Sneed, Ohio State's 47th-ranked doubles pair, earned the win over Alexis Casati and Daniela Pedraza Novak, 6-4.
In singles, Ohio State's Olivia Sneed won the No. 6 singles match over Grace Tapak, 6-0, 6-1. Anna Sanford, the 74th-ranked singles player in the country, defeated Casati at the No. 2 spot, 6-2, 6-3, and 89th-ranked Sandy Niehaus took down Pedraza Novak at the No. 5 position to clinch the match for Ohio State, 6-2, 6-4.
Ohio State's Miho Kowase, the 88th-ranked singles player in the nation, defeated Baillon to earn the win in the No. 3 singles match, 6-2, 6-3. The nation's top-ranked player, Francesca Di Lorenzo, took the No. 1 singles match over Kwong, 6-2, 6-3, finishing just before rain moved the match at the No. 4 position indoors. Switkes fell to 117th-ranked Ferny Angeles Paz in the final match, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
"They didn't give us much today," Clark said. "We certainly could have played better, but we will turn around quickly, get ready for Penn State on Sunday. It's a big match on Sunday in the conference, so we will forget about this one, move on, and get ready for the next one.
UP NEXT
Illinois will host Penn State on Sunday at 11 a.m. at Atkins Tennis Center.
No. 4 Ohio State 7, Illinois 0
DOUBLES
1. #26 Francesca Di Lorenzo/Miho Kowase (OSU) def. Louise Kwong/Ines Vias (ILL) 6-1
2. Madie Baillon/Jaclyn Switkes (ILL) vs. Ferny Angeles Paz/Anna Sanford (OSU) 5-3, unfinished
3. Sandy Niehaus/Olivia Sneed (OSU) def. Alexis Casati/Daniela Pedraza Novak (ILL) 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3*
SINGLES
1. #1 Francesca Di Lorenzo (OSU) def. Louise Kwong (ILL) 6-2, 6-3
2. #74 Anna Sanford (OSU) def. Alexis Casati (ILL) 6-2, 6-3
3. #88 Miho Kowase (OSU) def. Madie Baillon (ILL) 6-2, 6-3
4. #117 Ferny Angeles Paz (OSU) def. Jaclyn Switkes (ILL) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
5. #89 Sandy Niehaus (OSU) def. Daniela Pedraza Novak (ILL) 6-2, 6-4
6. Olivia Sneed (OSU) def. Grace Tapak (ILL) 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 2, 5*, 3, 1, 4
