Sunday, 01/29/2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 56th-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team fell to No. 29 Texas A&M, 5-2, Sunday afternoon in the consolation match at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kick-Off event in Tallahassee, Fla.

“We played three matches outside in January on the road against very good teams,” Chuck Merzbacher, Ohio State head coach, said. “It’s not the easiest task for a Northern team at this time of year. I am encouraged with these hard-fought matches and the conditioning of this team. I think this stretch early in the year will serve us well through the season.”

Ohio State returns home to face Syracuse at noon Saturday inside the Varsity Tennis Center before traveling to State College, Pa., to face Penn State in the team’s first Big Ten tilt at 3p.m. Feb. 7.

The Aggies (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) claimed the doubles point and four singles matches to down the Buckeyes (2-3, 0-0 Big Ten).

Texas A&M jumped out to a 1-0 lead, taking the final two doubles matches on courts one and three after Ohio State claimed a win on court two to open the contest. On court one, Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar and Sun Wen downed the 52nd-ranked duo of Kara Cecil and Kelsey Dieters, 8-5, while Sheri Olivier and Lauren Santacroce claimed an 8-3 victory against Fidan Manashirova and Gabby Steele.

Kelsey Haviland and Noelle Malley earned a doubles win for the Buckeyes, taking down Janine Erasmus and Nazari Urbina, 8-4, on court two.

The Scarlet and Gray showed their mettle in singles, climbing to a 2-1 overall lead against the Aggies after wins from Manashirova and Tiffany Dittmer. Manashirova claimed her first ranked victory of the year with a 6-2, 6-0 win over No. 61 Sun Wen on court three. The win also pushes the junior’s singles record to 5-0 in 2012.

Dittmer gave the Buckeyes the go-ahead point with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Olivier on court six, but Texas A&M would go on to take the remaining four decisions in straight sets.

On court four, Santacroce tied the score at two apiece after defeating Steele, 6-4, 6-2, before 11th-ranked Sanchez-Quintanar wrapped up a 6-2, 6-0 win over Cecil on court one. Urbina, ranked 105th nationally, clinched the effort for Texas A&M with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Haviland on court two. The Aggies’ Erasmus set the final score at 5-2 with her 6-2, 6-4 victory over Dieters on court five.

Doubles

1. Sanchez-Quintanar/Wen (TAMU) def. No. 52 Cecil/Dieters (OSU), 8-5
2. Haviland/Malley (OSU) def. Erasmus/Urbina (TAMU), 8-4
3. Olivier/Santacroce (TAMU) def. Manashirova/Steele (OSU), 8-3

Order of finish: 2, 3, 1

Singles

1. No. 11 Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (TAMU) def. Kara Cecil (OSU), 6-2, 6-0
2. No. 105 Nazari Urbina (TAMU) def. Kelsey Haviland (OSU), 6-2, 6-2
3. Fidan Manashirova (OSU) def. No. 61 Sun Wen, 6-2, 6-0
4. Lauren Santacroce (TAMU) def. Gabby Steele (OSU), 6-4, 6-2
5. Janine Erasmus (TAMU) def. Kelsey Dieters (OSU), 6-2, 6-4
6. Tiffany Dittmer (OSU) def. Sheri Olivier (TAMU), 6-3, 6-1

Order of finish: 3, 6, 4, 1, 2, 5