Buckeye 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.
No. 1 Goes Down
After downing Fresno in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, No. 8 seed Ohio State women's tennis team faced top-seeded and No. 1 ranked Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals.
At first, things all went according to plan – Vanderbilt rolled, winning the doubles point and the first singles match to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead.
But the Buckeyes didn't quit. Ohio State won the next three matches to go ahead 3-2, then Vanderbilt answered to tie it up at three. The match came down to Miho Kowase on court four, and the junior delivered, rallying after a first set loss to clinch the match for the Buckeyes.
WATCH: Match point in the Buckeyes' win over No. 1 Vanderbilt at #ITAIndoors yesterday. https://t.co/b9VQjFj2zR #GoBucks
— Ohio State W Tennis (@OhioState_WTEN) February 7, 2016
“This was just an absolute fight from the very beginning,” said Ohio State head coach Melissa Schaub in an OSU release. “I keep saying it, but this is just an incredibly special team. They play so hard for each other and for Ohio State. It's definitely contagious and I am so happy for all of them.”
Unfortunately, the run ended there. The Buckeyes fell in seven sets the semi-finals to fourth-seeded and No. 6 California in the semifinals, giving Ohio State its first loss on the season.
There's little time to dwell on the loss, however, as the team has a big weekend looming. No. 1 Vanderbilt travels to Columbus, Saturday for a rematch of this weekend's match and the Buckeyes host No. 24 Georgia Tech the day after.
Sweep, Again!
The Ohio State men's tennis team continued its dominating start to 2016 this weekend, sweeping No. 19 Virginia Tech.
The Buckeyes made short work of the Hokies in doubles. Ohio State's No. 22 Ralf Steinbach and Martin Joyce downed Virginia Tech's No. 21 ranked doubles pair 6-3 on Court 1, while Mikael Torpegaard and Herkko Pollanen won 6-2 on Court 2. Although the point was won before the match concluded, Chris Diaz and Hugo Di Feo were on their way to victory on Court 3, at match point up 5-2.
In singles, Mikael Torpegaard got his 12th win of the year, downing No. 14 Joao Monteiro on Court 1. Torpegaard now has a team best record of 12-2 and sits at No. 7 in the latest ITA rankings.
Ralf Steinbach continued his impressive start to the season, cruising past Jai Corbett 6-1 and 6-4. Steinbach is now a perfect 6-0 in the spring season and has yet to drop a set in singles play.
It was senior Chris Diaz who secured the win for Ohio State. After winning the first set 6-2, Diaz found himself in a tie-breaker in the second set which he won 7-4.
The Buckeyes are undefeated on the season, winning eight consecutive matches. Far more impressively, the Ohio State is the only program from a Power 5 conference that has yet to surrender a point in the 2016 season – all eight wins have come on 4-0 sweeps.
OSU takes the impressive streak to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship this weekend. Ohio State will open play Thursday and the team's next home match is against No. 3 Texas A&M, Feb. 19.
Other Scores and News
- Women's Basketball: Downed Illinois 80-70 and Wisconsin 87-61.
- Men's Lacrosse: Defeat Furman 8-7 to start the season.
- Wrestling: Fell to No. 1 Penn State 24-14.
- Women's Hockey: Fell to No. 2 Wisconsin 2-1 and 2-0.
- Women's Gymnastics: Posted 196.350 to win tri-meet at Rutgers.
