- Junior Luciana Perry celebrates during the Buckeyes’ win over the 8th-ranked NC State Wolfpack. Photo courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
It was redemption for the No. 2 Ohio State women’s tennis team.
The Buckeyes earned their fourth ranked win of the season at Ty Tucker Tennis Center Friday, downing No. 8 NC State 5-2 and improving to 6-1 on the season.
The bounce back win comes after a crushing loss in the ITA Indoor Final to No. 1 Georgia 4-3 in Evanston, Illinois Tuesday.
“I’m really proud of these guys and how they were able to come back after that.”? head coach Melissa Schuab said.
Ohio State entered doubles with the higher-ranked pair on all three courts and it couldn’t capitalize.
A commanding 6-0 win from Luciana Perry and Audrey Spencer gave the Buckeyes an early edge, but defeats on the other two courts handed the doubles points and an early lead to NC State.
Tandem juniors Teah Chavez and Alessia Cau were overwhelmed 6-2 on court three, and freshman Hephzibah Oluwadare and sophomore Sophia Case-Ignatiev followed with a 6-4 loss on court one to NC State’s No. 2 Broadfoot and Osuigwe.
“We gotta figure out the doubles,” Schuab said. “[We’re] still trying to figure out what teams work. [It’s a] work in progress., but we’ll get there.”
Being down by one, the Buckeyes were on the verge of dropping their second straight match of the season.
Their singles team would not let that happen.
Ohio State responded with four straight points to seize control of the match. It started with No. 13 Teah Chavez and Sophia Case-Ignatiev, who delivered composed straight-set wins to swing momentum.
Then, the highest ranked Buckeye No. 3 Luciana Perry provided the emotional spark. After taking the first set comfortably, Perry erased a 4-0 deficit in a second-set tiebreak to secure the victory and put the Buckeyes ahead for good.
“[Chavez] was reminding me to just keep fighting and showing what a Buckeye is,” Perry said. “That was really instilled in my brain.”
Audrey Spencer put the finishing touch on the comeback with a 7-5, 6-4 win on court five to clinch the match. NC State managed just one singles point as Ohio State’s depth and resilience took over.
“It was a tough match,” Spencer said. “NC State is a great team, so I just had to trust myself and my teammates.”
The rally underscored what Perry believes this team is built on.
“It shows that we have grit,” she said. “A lot of us were tired and sore, but it shows how much fight we have.”
