Around the Oval: Men's Lacrosse, Volleyball, Tennis Teams Have Their Eyes on a National Championship

By TJ Neer on May 1, 2017 at 1:05 pm
Ohio State Men's Lacrosse.
Ohio State Athletics.
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As seasons come to a close for winter sports, four Buckeye teams will have a decent chance at being crowned NCAA champions.

Men's Volleyball

Perhaps the team with the best chance to win a title this year, the men's volleyball team has been dominant lately and all season. The Buckeyes enter the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed (with a first-round bye) and are looking to defend their title from 2016. On top of having already won a title recently, the team will also get to play the tournament at home in St. John Arena, which might provide them some added boost.

Fresh off a dominant showing at the MIVA Conference Tournament last weekend, the Buckeyes certainly look ready to attain NCAA glory once again.

Nice to see they're getting some recognitio

Men's Lacrosse

The team started the season 8-0, but they rose to prominence with their ninth win to kick off the season. In that win, the team took down then-No. 1 Denver by a whopping score of 16-7 in Ohio Stadium, and that win gave them some of the attention they had deserved for their outstanding play up to that point.

The team didn't help itself with a loss the next week, but they've rounded into form to close the season and are looking strong with a 13-2 regular season record heading into the Big Ten tournament, despite dropping a 12-11 overtime decision at Rutgers April 29.

Volleyball isn't the only team that could benefit from a home crowd, either; the lacrosse team will have the luxury of playing its Big Ten tournament games in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, right here in Columbus.

Freshman phenom Tre Leclaire (32 goals,13 assists) and senior Eric Fannell (25 goals, 23 assists) have been big proponents of the team's success this season and they'll look to keep that rolling through the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.

Tennis

Both of Ohio State's tennis teams have been dominant this season, and both proved that yet again over the weekend with wins at the Big Ten tournament. Yes, that's right: both tennis teams took home the Big Ten crown.

Oh, and to make it even sweeter: both teams defeated That School Up North in the finals to ensure their conference title.

The men's squad took home the award for the 10th time in 12 years, while the women's team secured their second straight conference title.

Both teams are ranked in the top 5 in the NCAA, with the men holding down the No. 2 spot while the women sit at No. 4. The women's team also boasts the No. 1 singles player in the NCAA in Francesca Di Lorenzo while the men's team has Mikael Torpegaard, who is now ranked No. 2 but has been No. 1 for much of the season, and Hugo Di Feo, who currently sits at No. 9.

The men's team even secured the No. 1 ranking in the NCAA earlier this season, but lost it with two losses on a road trip against Texas and Texas A&M. The team finished the season with a 29-3 mark that included unbeaten records against conference opponents and while playing at home.

The women's squad climbed as high as No. 2 this season, and currently sit at No. 4 in the NCAA after a 28-2 season that saw them stay unbeaten in conference and at home. Their only losses this season came to No. 1 Florida and No. 5 North Carolina.

Both teams earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with their conference title. Look for both teams to make some noise at the tournament in Georgia May 18-29.

Baseball/Softball

Softball took on division foe Iowa in a three-game set and came out on the other side with a 2-1 record for the week to show for it.

Their most impressive game against the Hawkeyes came on Saturday, where the Bucks put up six runs, including solo shots from sophomore Emily Clark and senior Alex Bayne, while sophomore pitcher Morgan Ray tossed a complete game 2-hit shutout.

The baseball team entered a three-game set against a division rival as well, but just couldn't find a rhythm against Nebraska as they took only one game from the Cornhuskers.

On Friday the team seemed to have something going as they put up nine runs and took down Nebraska 9-7, but the offense sputtered Saturday despite good pitching and the game ended in a 3-1 loss. 

In the deciding game of the series on Sunday, the pitching staff couldn't help out the Bucks' hot bats, and the team put up nine runs but ultimately lost 11-9.

Men's Crew

The Ohio State men's crew team finished sixth at the Mid-America Collegiate Rowing Association Championships this weekend, the team's conference championships.

The Buckeyes finished with 19 points, finishing sixth out of 18 teams. Michigan took home the MACRA title, finishing with 41 team points.

Ohio State's sixth-place finish included a first-place finish in the men's varsity four and the women's pair, as well as a second-place finish in women's varsity four, a fourth place finish in women's novice four, and a fourth-place finish in the men's freshmen eight.

Other Events

Ohio State placed third at the men's golf Big Ten tournament, led by sophomore Will Grimmer's 4-under 66 on the final day to put himself in a tie for second place overall in the tourney.

The women's relay team won the 2017 HyVee Cup at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. The HyVee Cup takes into account performances from five separate relays to determine a champion.

Upcoming

May 2

  • Baseball vs. Texas Tech

May 3

  • Softball vs. Kent State
  • Baseball vs. Texas Tech

May 4

  • Men's Lacrosse vs. Johns Hopkins (Big Ten Semifinals)
  • Ohio State vs. Hawaii/Penn State (NCAA Semifinals)

May 5

  • Baseball @ Michigan
  • Softball @ Illinois

May 6

  • Softball @ Illinois
  • Baseball @ Michigan
  • Men's Volleyball, NCAA Championship
  • Men's Lacrosse, Big Ten Championship
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