NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament Preview: Can Ohio State go all the way?

TL;DR

The Ohio State Buckeyes women's tennis team, seeded No. 3 in the NCAA Tournament, is a strong contender but has faced challenges this season. Key players include Luciana Perry and Teah Chavez, both ranked among the top five singles players in the country.

Key points

Ohio State is the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament
Luciana Perry and Teah Chavez are top players
Ohio State has faced three significant losses this season
Georgia and Texas A&M are top competitors
The tournament format includes doubles and singles matches

Mentioned in this story

Luciana PerryTeah Chavez

Ohio State BuckeyesGeorgiaTexas A&MPepperdine

The Ohio State Buckeyes women's tennis program has been one of the country's better programs for over a decade now, though it has had a few down years recently. This year, though, the Buckeyes are definitely a threat to win it all. They're also potentially upset-prone, though. So let's look at their path in the NCAA Tournament and where the biggest threats are.

First of all, let's review how NCAA Tennis works. Each team puts up three doubles pairs, who play a one-set match each. Whichever team wins two doubles sets gets one point. After that, there are six singles matches (best-of-three sets). Each singles match is worth one point. So, that makes seven points in total (one doubles, six singles). The first team to four total points wins.

Ohio State earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament on the back of an impressive season. The Buckeyes have, without question, the third-most-talented roster in the country (behind Georgia and Texas A&M--more on them later). Luciana Perry and Teah Chavez are two of the top five singles players in the country. Nao Nishino, Audrey Spencer, and Sophie Cisse-Ignatiev are also ranked.

However, the Buckeyes also put in three bad days at the office over the course of this season. Two of those came on West Coast road trips, when the Buckeyes got crushed by Pepperdine and USC. The third came against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament final on Sunday. In all three of those matches, multiple Buckeyes played well below their best (or even medium) levels. It led to losses that this team really shouldn't have taken. If anything like that happens again in the NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes could be going home early.

Q&A

What is Ohio State's seed in the NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament?

Ohio State is the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament.

Who are the top players on the Ohio State women's tennis team?

Luciana Perry and Teah Chavez are two of the top five singles players in the country for Ohio State.

What teams are considered the biggest threats to Ohio State in the tournament?

Georgia and Texas A&M are considered the biggest threats to Ohio State in the NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament.

What format does the NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament follow?

The tournament format includes three doubles matches and six singles matches, with the first team to four points winning.