Junior Luciana Perry celebrates after winning a point. Ohio State beat Michigan Friday night at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. Photo courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
On nearly every court, the margin for error was razor thin.
Five of the six singles matches between the No. 2 Ohio State women’s tennis team and Michigan stretched to three sets, turning every point into a pivotal moment in a tense, back-and-forth battle.
After three hours of grinding rallies and momentum swings, Ohio State delivered the final push. Fueled by aggressive play down the stretch, the Buckeyes bounced back from losing the doubles point to defeat Michigan 4-1 Friday at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center.
“It’s what you expect in a rivalry match,” head coach Melissa Schaub said. “They have a lot of pride in their program, as do we, so you know it’s going to be a battle.”
The doubles point offered an early preview of the tightly contested match that followed. The No. 17 duo of freshman Hephzibah Oluwadare and junior Teah Chavez earned a decisive 6-2 win over No. 36 Lily Jones and Jessica Bernales on court one, while sophomore Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev and junior Alessia Cau fell 6-4 on court three.
All eyes turned to juniors Luciana Perry and Audrey Spencer on court two to decide the doubles point.
The pair rallied from a 5-1 deficit against Reese Miller and Laura Rahnel, winning four straight games to tie the set at 5-5.
But despite the comeback, the Wolverines ultimately took the next two games, giving them a 1-0 lead entering singles play.
“We were so close, but it was really good tennis overall,” Chavez said. “We couldn’t really ask for more, but our goal coming into singles was to come out firing and be really aggressive.”
That aggressiveness first paid off for Oluwadare, who secured Ohio State’s first singles point with a straight-set victory.
Oluwadare’s match was the only singles contest decided in two sets; the remaining five matches all went the distance, setting the stage for a string of intensely contested finishes.
Ohio State’s message throughout the match was to remain aggressive by staying up in the court and forcing the Wolverines into mistakes. Combined with the Buckeyes’ persistence in long rallies, the approach eventually paid off.
Cisse-Ignatiev won her match in three sets on court three, taking the final set 6-3, while No. 4 Chavez dropped the first set but came back to win the next two on court two, giving the Buckeyes a 3-1 lead.
All three remaining matches were in the middle of their third sets, but it was Spencer on court four who clinched the victory. She defeated Emily Starz-Lunde with a decisive 6-2 final set to secure the 4-1 win for Ohio State. The other two matches were abandoned.
“One thing we talk about is not giving away any spots,” Schaub said. “If you look at that, seeing five three-set matches shows that we’re not giving anything away.”
