University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Ohio State
Gophers Fall to No. 2 Ohio State
3/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
The No. 50 University of Minnesota Gophers took a tough 7-0 loss this afternoon at No. 2 Ohio State.
The Gophers were leading in two doubles matches but ultimately fell in all three. They went on to drop all of their singles matches in two sets with Paula Rincon-Otero and Annemarie Emme both coming close to pulling out set wins.
Caroline Ryba and Julia Courter took just their second loss of the season dropping to 9-2 together and winning their previous five matches.
At the No. 1 spot Rincon and Emme battled the No. 2 doubles tandem in the nation in Anna Sanford and Miho Kowase but fell 6-3. Caitlyn Merzbacher and Mehvish Safdar jumped out to a 4-1 lead on The No. 38 Ferny Angeles and Sandy Niehaus but lost 6-4 to drop to 8-4 together.
Courter, Safdar and Ryba all dropped first in singles as the Buckeyes sealed the point. Courter is 12-10 and Safdar is 11-7 this season.
Ryba had a six match win streak snapped in her loss and is 14-7 this season. The loss was just her third in dual match play this year.
Camila Vargas Gomez fell at the No. 5 spot and is now 12-10 while Emme fought hard in her second set but lost (6-2, 7-5) in the end.
Rincon was the last Gopher left after dropping a close 7-5 first set could not hang on in the second set.
The Gophers are 10-6 overall with a 2-1 Big Ten record. They head to Nebraska for a match Friday at 3 p.m. and take on Iowa Sunday at 11 a.m.
#2 Ohio State University 7, #50 Minnesota 0
Singles competition
1. #3 Francesca Di Lorenzo (OSU) def. #120 Caroline Ryba (MINN) 6-2, 6-2
2. Anna Sanford (OSU) def. Julia Courter (MINN) 6-1, 6-0
3. Miho Kowase (OSU) def. Paula Rincon-Otero (MINN) 7-5, 6-0
4. Gabriella De Santis (OSU) def. Annemarie Emme (MINN) 6-2, 7-5
5. Ferny Angeles Paz (OSU) def. Camila Vargas Gomez (MINN) 6-0, 6-0
6. #91 Sandy Niehaus (OSU) def. Mehvish Safdar (MINN) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #2 Anna Sanford/Miho Kowase (OSU) def. Annemarie Emme/Paula Rincon-Otero (MINN) 6-3
2. Francesca Di Lorenzo/Olivia Sneed (OSU) def. Caroline Ryba/Julia Courter (MINN) 6-0
3. #38 Ferny Angeles Paz/Sandy Niehaus (OSU) def. Mehvish Safdar/Caitlyn Merzbacher (MINN) 6-4
Match Notes
Minnesota 10-5; National ranking #50
The Ohio State University 16-2; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,6,1,5,4,3)
Players Mentioned
