Fitting for Senior Day, both the doubles point and team match were clinched by seniors. In doubles, the tandems of seniors Irina Cantos Siemers and freshman Luciana Perry and senior Madeline Atway and freshman Alessia Cau were victorious to seal the doubles point. Perry and Sydney Ratliff then put the Buckeyes up 3-0 with straight-set singles wins. After Illinois won the next two matches for a 3-2 team score, Cantos Siemers, the Buckeyes’ all-time leader in singles wins, rallied in the second set on court one to clinch the win for the Scarlet and Gray.
The Buckeye senior class of Atway, Akanksha Bhan and Cantos Siemers was recognized before the match.
Up Next
Ohio State will be the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will open play in the quarterfinal round Friday. The semifinals are set for Saturday, with the final Sunday. Michigan, which won the outright league title for the No. 1 seed, will host the tournament in Ann Arbor. Tournament Central
How it Happened
- Buckeye doubles tandems comprised of a senior and a freshman clinched the doubles point.
- On court one, the No. 34-ranked tandem of seniors Irina Cantos Siemers and freshman Luciana Perry downed No. 73 Megan Heuser and Kate Duong, 6-2.
- Senior Madeline Atway and freshman Alessia Cau clinched the point, as they defeated Josie Frazier and Alice Xu, 6-3.
- No. 51 Perry posted a 6-1, 6-4 win over McKenna Schaefbauer on court two for a 2-0 Ohio State lead. In the second set, Perry was up a break but Schaefbauer won three games in a row for a 3-3 set. After each player held for 4-all, Perry moved ahead 5-4 and then broke for the set.
- Sydney Ratliff, ranked 119th, moved Ohio State to a 3-0 advantage with a straight-set win over Violeta Martinez on court three. She won the first set, 6-3, taking four of the final six games. In the second set, Ratlif was down 4-1 but claimed three games in a row for a four-all match. Martinez held for 5-4; in the next game, Ratliff prevailed on the no-ad point and then broke to go ahead 6-5, serving it out for a 7-5 second-set win.
- The Illini won the next two matches, with straight set victories on courts five and six, for a 3-2 team score.
- On Senior Day, it was a senior who clinched the match for the Buckeyes.
- No. 17-ranked Cantos Siemers claimed the first set, 6-4, against Heuser on court one. In the second set, Heuser was up a break early, but the Buckeye got back on serve. Heuser again went ahead, as she won three games in a row for a 5-2 advantage. Cantos Siemers did not drop a game the rest of the way, winning two of the games on the no-ad point, to take the set 7-5.
- The final match was abandoned tied at one set apiece. Buckeye Shelly Bereznyak dropped the first set in a tiebreaker but won the second 6-2 to force the third.
- Cantos Siemers leads the Buckeyes with 14 dual match wins, followed by Bereznyak with 13. Perry and Ratliff both now have 10 wins this spring and are on six-match winning streaks.
The Results
Illinois vs. Ohio State
4/21/2024 at Columbus, Ohio
(Ty Tucker Tennis Center)
#15 Ohio State 4, #35 Illinois 2
Singles competition
1. #17 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) def. Megan Heuser (ILL) 6-4, 7-5
2. #51 Luciana Perry (OSU) def. McKenna Schaefbauer (ILL) 6-1, 6-4
3. #119 Sydney Ratliff (OSU) def. Violeta Martinez (ILL) 6-3, 7-5
4. Shelly Bereznyak (OSU) vs. Josie Frazier (ILL) 6-7 (0-7), 6-2, unfinished
5. Kasia Treiber (ILL) def. Audrey Spencer (OSU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Alice Xu (ILL) def. Akanksha Bhan (OSU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles competition
1. #34 Irina Cantos Siemers/Luciana Perry (OSU) def. #73 Megan Heuser/Kate Duong (ILL) 6-2
2. Sydney Ratliff/Audrey Spencer (OSU) vs. Kasia Treiber/McKenna Schaefbauer (ILL) 4-4, unfinished
3. Alessia Cau/Madeline Atway (OSU) def. Josie Frazier/Alice Xu (ILL) 6-3
Match Notes:
Illinois 16-8, 8-3 B1G; National ranking #35
Ohio State 17-6, 10-1 B1G; National ranking #15
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,3,5,6,1)
Official: Connor Nowosatka T-2:35 A-296
