Ohio State excellence is not exclusive to the football field or the basketball court. Around the Oval is our way of keeping you informed of the amazing things happening with the other 34 varsity sports on campus.
Di Lorenzo takes claims national title
Sophomore Francesca Di Lorenzo, of the Ohio State women's tennis team, took home first place at the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships in California on Sunday. Di Lorenzo, a New Albany, Ohio native, defeated Ena Shibahara of UCLA in the finals to claim her first place prize. This is Di Lorenzo's second collegiate national title and also the second ever in Ohio State women's tennis history.
“It feels unbelievable," said Di Lorenzo to the ITA. "Every tournament, I try to go out and play the best I can and compete the best I can and see where it goes from there. This wasn't expected, and I'm really happy to be in the position I'm standing in right now."
Di Lorenzo took an early 2-3 deficit in the finals, but came back to win 6-4. The Buckeye battled through five rounds of the tournament, which included the No. 1 seed Haley Carter of UNC, to claim first place. This win gives Di Lorenzo a spot at the national indoor championships, of which she is currently the reigning champion.
Your #RivieraITA finalist, @EnaShibs (@uclawtennis) & champion Francesca Di Lorenzo (@OhioState_WTEN) pic.twitter.com/XXBytVYCms
— ITA Tennis (@ITA_Tennis) October 9, 2016
women's soccer with two b1g wins
The Ohio State women's soccer team defeated two B1G opponents, Maryland and Purdue, with ease this week. The team's record improves to 9-4-2 overall and 3-2-2 in conference play.
The Buckeyes traveled to Maryland and came back with a 4-0 win, thanks to two goals from Sammy Edwards. The first goal came in the second minute from Lindsay Agnew, her ninth of the year. Only a minute later, Emma Firenze put one in for the Buckeyes to give the team an early 2-0 lead. The next two goals for the Scarlet and Gray came from Edwards in the second half to seal the win, 4-0.
Want another look at @emfirenz's beautiful left-footed volley Thursday night? We've got you covered. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/adfs6vkQvl
— Ohio State WSOC (@OhioState_WSOC) October 8, 2016
Next, the team made the trip to Purdue and secured it's second B1G road win in one week, 4-1. Edwards struck first for Ohio State in the eighth minute. The Bucks didn't score again until the 38 minute mark when Morgan Wolcott put one in to double the lead. Next, Nichelle Prince scored two back to back goals for the Buckeyes, putting the team up 4-0. Purdue scored one goal in the final minutes of the game to make the final score 4-1 in favor of the Scarlet and Gray.
women's volleyball struggles up north
The Ohio State women's volleyball team traveled to that state up north to take on B1G opponents, top-25 ranked Michigan State and Michigan. The Buckeyes were ultimately defeated in both hard fought conference battles. Ohio's team lost in a three set sweep in East Lansing, but took Michigan to a four set nail biter in Ann Arbor.
Although they lost in the end, this Ohio State team played an impressive game against it's rival. Valeria Leon had a match high of 23 digs, bringing her all time total to 1,537 and putting her only 35 digs away form the Ohio State record. Taylor Sandbothe had five blocks and 17 kills. Luisa Schirmer had an great game, racking up 17 kills herself. Taylor Hughes had a great all around performance, per usual, with nine kills, two service aces, and two blocks.
After the first two sets against that team up north, Ohio State was down 0-2. The Buckeyes came out swinging in the third set, winning 25-16 and putting themselves back in the game. The third set was a total team effort, as the Buckeyes combined for 21 total digs and five blocks. This defense held the Wolverines .125 attack percentage.
In the fourth set, the Wolverines took an early 18-10 lead. Things looks completely over for the Bucks, until they went on an 11-3 run to tie the game up 21-21. The rivals went back and forth, taking the score to 24-24. Eventually, Michigan outlasted the Bucks and won the match 27-25.
In the final set, the leadership of senior Taylor Sandbothe was the standout for the Buckeyes. Due to the rotation, the powerful senior was forced to sit during a large part of her team's final rally, but when she made it back out on the floor she brought a noticeable fire back to the Buckeyes. Sandbothe was named AVCA Player of the Week last week for her performance in Ohio State's upset over Nebraska.
Ohio State's march through the B1G will continue with two home contests coming up this weekend. The Bucks will take on top-5 ranked Nebraska for the second time this season on Friday and then Iowa on Saturday. If your in Columbus, I would say making the trip to St. John's to support this team would be worth it. First serves at 6 pm.
Di Feo Runner-Up
Ohio State sophomore men's tennis player Hugo Di Feo's run through the ITA All-American Championship came to an end Monday as he was downed by Wake Forest’s Petros Chrysochos in the final.
With the runner-up finish, Di Feo earned a trip to next month's USTA/ITA Indoor National Singles and Doubles Championship along with teammate Mikael Torpegaard, who earned a spot with his quarterfinal appearance.
From an Ohio State release:
Di Feo’s run to the final was highlighted by three top-25 victories. The Montreal native came into the week ranked No. 33 in the country and knocked-off local favorite and No. 25 Or Ram Harel of Tulsa in the second round. He then took down No. 7 Skander Mansouri of Wake Forest in the round of 16 and No. 6 Tom Fawcett of Stanford in the quarterfinals. Those three wins were Di Feo’s first three wins over top-25 ranked opponents in his career.
Go Bucks!
