Hawkeyes Fall at Home to No. 34 Ohio State

April 18, 2014

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s tennis team fell to No. 34 Ohio State on Friday afternoon at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex, 6-1.

In doubles, the Buckeyes were able to take a 1-0 lead after a pair of victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions.

Iowa’s top duo in senior Ruth Seaborne and junior Morven McCulloch fell for the second time in conference play this season in an 8-6 loss to Ohio State’s Noelle Malley and Graine O’Neill, the No. 78-ranked duo in the country. The loss drops Seaborne and McCulloch to 14-3 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten.

Juniors Shelby Talcott and Katie Zordani were in a back and forth battle with Ohio State’s Miho Kowase and Ferny Angeles Paz before the match was abandoned. No. 82 Kowase and Angeles Paz led the match, 5-4.

Ohio State kept its momentum rolling in singles, picking up four consecutive victories to extend its lead to 5-0 and clinch the victory.

Sophomore Annette Dohanics picked up Iowa’s lone singles win of the day at the No. 5 position, 7-5, 6-4. The win moves Dohanics to 12-7 overall and extends her win streak to three matches. Dohanics is 5-0 at the No. 5 singles slot.

Seaborne, the reigning Big Ten Athlete of the Week, fell to Ohio State’s Gabriella De Santis in three sets. After dropping the first set 6-1, Seaborne came back to dominate the second set, 6-0. However, Seaborne fell short in the third set, 6-2, giving the Buckeyes the 6-1 victory. The loss drops Seaborne to 14-6 overall and snaps her winning streak of five matches.

The Hawkeyes (9-12, 2-7) conclude the regular season on Sunday with a matchup against Penn State (5-16, 1-8) at the HTRC at 10 a.m. (CT). Sunday is also senior day. There will be free gold Hawkeye sweatbands for the first 50 fans in attendance.

Ohio State 6, Iowa 1

Singles:
1. #92 Gabriella De Santis (OSU) def. #75 Ruth Seaborne (IOWA) 6-1, 0-6, 6-2
2. Miho Kowase (OSU) def. Shelby Talcott (IOWA) 6-0, 6-3
3. Sandy Niehaus (OSU) def. Morven McCulloch (IOWA) 7-5, 6-4
4. Ferny Angeles Paz (OSU) def. Katie Zordani (IOWA) 6-2, 6-3
5. Annette Dohanics (IOWA) def. Nicole Flower (OSU) 7-6, 6-4
6. Grainne O’Neill (OSU) def. Ellen Silver (IOWA) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles:
1. #78 Noelle Malley/Grainne O’Neill (OSU) def. Ruth Seaborne/Morven McCulloch (IOWA) 8-6
2. Shelby Talcott/Katie Zordani (IOWA) vs. #82 Ferny Angeles Paz/Miho Kowase (OSU) 4-5, unfinished
3. Gabriella De Santis/Sandy Niehaus (OSU) def. Annette Dohanics/Aimee Tarun (IOWA) 8-1

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,6,3,4,5,1)