Friday, 04/20/2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 62nd-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team swept doubles and earned five singles victories to pick up a conference win against Michigan State, 6-1, at home in windy conditions Friday afternoon at the Ohio State University Varsity Outdoor Tennis Courts. The match, the Buckeyes’ last regular-season contest at home, was also Senior Day for the team’s lone senior, Kelsey Haviland, who was honored in a postmatch ceremony.

“It was a really exciting and sad day,” Haviland said after the match. “I was really happy to pull out the win for the team and I know this isn’t my last match on these courts. I hope we can take our team far in the Big Ten tournament here next week.”

The Buckeyes swept doubles to take an early lead. Fidan Manashirova and Gabby Steele started the run for the Scarlet and Gray as the duo downed the Spartans’ Marina Bohrer and Dana Guentert, 8-1, on court two. The No. 1 tandem of Kara Cecil and Kelsey Dieters then defeated Michigan State’s Nicole Herzog and Michaela Silesova, 8-3, before OSU’s Haviland and Noelle Malley wrapped up the sweep with an 8-4 win on court three against Julianne Gruber and Katarina Lingl.

Manashirova kept the momentum rolling in singles, downing Herzog, 6-1, 6-0, on court three before the Spartans nabbed their own win to cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 2-1. Tiffany Dittmer started the scoring run again for the Scarlet and Gray as she defeated Gruber, 6-0, 7-5, on court six. Steele secured the win for Ohio State with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Lingl on court five.

Dieters dropped a tough first set in a tiebreaker to Silesova on court four. The freshman bounced back for the Buckeyes, taking the second set, 6-0, before rambling on to a 10-6 super tiebreaker win.

The day closed with Haviland picking up a victory on court one. She rallied to win the first set, 6-4, before dropping the second, 6-3. The Buckeye captain went on to win the super tiebreaker, 10-6, to wrap up the match.

“It was really cool to hear a bunch of my accomplishments,” the senior said of the postmatch ceremony. “Plus, there’s no better way to finish than beating a Big Ten team at home for my Senior Day.”

Ohio State will end the weekend and the regular season with a noon match at Michigan Sunday in Ann Arbor. Ohio State will serve as host of the 2012 Big Ten Tournament next week, with tourney play running April 25-29. Admission is free to all tournament matches. For a complete schedule and information, visit http://go.osu.edu/2012WTENBTT.

Tennis Match Results
Michigan State vs Ohio State
Apr 20, 2012 at Columbus, Ohio
(OSU Varsity Outdoor Courts)

#62 Ohio State 6, Michigan State 1

Singles competition

1. Kelsey Haviland (OSU) def. Olga Chernova (MSU) 6-4, 3-6, 10-6
2. Marina Bohrer (MSU) def. Kara Cecil (OSU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Fidan Manashirova (OSU) def. Nicole Herzog (MSU) 6-1, 6-0
4. Kelsey Dieters (OSU) def. Michaela Silesova (MSU) 6-7 (4), 6-0, 10-6
5. Gabby Steele (OSU) def. Katarina Lingl (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Tiffany Dittmer (OSU) def. Julianne Gruber (MSU) 6-0, 7-5

Doubles competition

1. Kara Cecil/Kelsey Dieters (OSU) def. Nicole Herzog/Michaela Silesova (MSU) 8-3
2. Fidan Manashirova/Gabby Steele (OSU) def. Marina Bohrer/Dana Guentert (MSU) 8-1
3. Kelsey Haviland/Noelle Malley (OSU) def. Julianne Gruber/Katarina Lingl (MSU) 8-4

Match Notes:

Michigan State 8-13 (0-10 Big Ten)
Ohio State 9-14 (4-6 Big Ten); National ranking #62
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,2,6,5,4,1)

T-3:20  A-118