Photo by Erez Aidlin
No. 3 Luciana Perry (Ohio State) was on the ropes down a set and a break to No. 26 Rose Nijkamp in the ITA All American Championships semifinals.
After dropping the first set 2-6, Perry was down early in the second set. But her experience showed as she battled back to win the second set and dominate the third. She went on to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. After the match, she credited support from Buckeyes assistant coach Irina Cantos Siemers.
“It took a lot out of me to come back, a lot of belief from me and my coaches,” Perry said. “Irina today, she really helped me get through that, I can’t thank her enough because she really gave me a lot of belief through that.”
“She always talks to me in Spanish. Her and I communicate that way, and when she talks to me in Spanish, she uses some of the phrases that come from my childhood growing up. It hits close to the heart and close to home. It really inspires me and reminds me of where I came from and what it took to get here, and I can have a belief to get through it.”
Perry grew up in the United States, born to an Argentinian mother who actually came to the United States to play college tennis for Duquesne University.
Cantos Siemers has coached with the Buckeyes since the summer of 2024, joining the staff after a five year career at Ohio State where she amassed 127 singles and became the all-time program leader in that category.
Perry will take on No. 3 newcomer Mimi Xu (Duke) in the ITA All American final at 10 a.m. Sunday.
