COLUMBUS, Ohio – Notre Dame women’s tennis was searching for some upset magic against No. 3 seed Ohio State on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament; however, the Fighting Irish’s (19-10) 2026 season came to an end in the second round, falling 4-0 to the Buckeyes (25-4).
The Irish conclude their season with a 19-10 overall record, making their 28th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Shoutout to the Notre Dame senior class, who not only made the NCAA Tournament all four years but also advanced at least one round each time. The trio of Hanford, Pozder and Matsuno had combined for 74 team wins.
In today’s match, OSU claimed the doubles point after winning 6-2 on court one and 6-1 on court three. The No. 69-ranked pair of Gabriella Rawles and Rylie Hanford was a game away from victory, up 5-3, over No. 34 Chavez/Oluwadare.
In singles, the bottom of the Ohio State lineup (4-6) got the job done to send the three-seed on to the Sweet 16.
If the doubles point had gone ND’s favor, this match could have been very close down the stretch, and here’s why:
No. 70 Bianca Molnar was impressing on court one against No. 5 Teah Chavez. The sophomore won the first set in a tiebreak 7-6(4), and was 1-1 in the second set. In addition, Akari Matsuno was on the verge on forcing a third set against No. 4 Luciana Perry, 5-7, 5-2. The same could be said for freshman Sophia Holod at 2-6, 6-5.
#35 Notre Dame (19-10) – 0 | #4 Ohio State (25-4) – 4
DOUBLES – 3, 1
1. #23 Johnson/Perry (OSU) def. Kovalcik/Molnar (ND), 6-2
2. #69 Rawles/Hanford (ND) vs. #34 Chavez/Oluwadare (OSU), 5-3, unfinished
3. Cisse-Ignatiev/Spencer (OSU) def. Matsuno/Van Zyl (ND), 6-1
SINGLES – 6, 4, 5
1. #70 Bianca Molnar (ND) vs. #5 Teah Chavez (OSU), 7-6(4), 1-1, unfinished
2. #4 Luciana Perry (OSU) vs. Akari Matsuno (ND), 7-5, 2-5, unfinished
3. Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (OSU) vs. Sophia Holod (ND), 6-2, 5-6, unfinished
4. #76 Nao Nishino (OSU) def. Rylie Hanford (ND), 6-3, 6-4
5. #123 Audrey Spencer (OSU) def. Gabriella Rawles (ND), 6-3, 6-4
6. Hephzibah Oluwadare (OSU) def. Jessica Kovalcik (ND), 6-2, 6-2
– ND –