The women’s tennis team’s (20-8, 5-5 MAC) grand season ended on Friday afternoon with a loss to Ohio State (23-3, 12-1 Big 10), the fourth seed, in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulls put up a notable fight, but ultimately lost 4-0 as Ohio State dominated the court in all matches.
The match began with doubles where Ohio State quickly set and maintained the tone for the afternoon. In the first doubles, the Buckeyes secured the win with a score of 6-2. On the second court, UB’s duo of freshman Blanca Berges and senior Jagmeet Kaur put up a tough fight but eventually fell to the Buckeyes with an end score of 4-3 — the Buckeyes earning the doubles point. The Bulls were once again defeated by the Buckeyes in the final doubles match with a score of 6-3, giving the Buckeyes an early 1-0 lead across the doubles matches.
The singles matches followed the same pattern, where the Buckeyes took an early lead. Ohio State dominated the court winning all singles matches. In the second singles match, Kaur provided a glimpse of victory for the Bulls as she won the second set against the Buckeyes with a 6-3 score. However, Ohio State prevailed by winning the first and third sets, giving Ohio State a 3-0 lead.
The rest of the singles matches were led by Ohio State as they outplayed the Bulls on every court with clean wins,, leaving half of the singles matches unfinished as Ohio State already secured the 4-0 win.
For Kaur, this match closed out her undergraduate tennis career. She ended her season with a hard fight, being the only Bull to win a set against the Buckeyes.
As for the rest of the Bulls, their remarkable season has come to an end. Even though their run at the NCAA Tournament ended earlier than anticipated, their resilience and teamwork that has been shown throughout the season will be remembered for seasons to come. The team exhibited exponential growth and will continue to use any challenges they faced to improve for next season.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
