Around The Oval: Men's Tennis Advances in NCAA Tournament, Ohio State Softball Earns a Series Win at Michigan, 203 Student-Athletes Earn OSU Degrees

By Chase Brown on May 6, 2024 at 12:15 pm
Ohio State Men's Tennis
Ohio State Dept. of Athletics
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Another week, another Around the Oval.

In this week's edition of ATO, Eleven Warriors’ one-stop shop for coverage of the Buckeyes’ Olympic sports, we look at the men's tennis team's wins at the NCAA Columbus Regional, the softball team's series win over Michigan and the accomplishments of some of the 203 student-athletes to graduate on Sunday.

Let's dive in.

Men's Tennis

Over the weekend, Ohio State men's tennis defeated Cleveland State and Oklahoma State in the NCAA Regional at the Auer Tennis Complex. The Buckeyes swept the Vikings, 4-0, on Friday and cleared out the Cowboys, 4-1, on Saturday.

Cleveland State

DOUBLES
  1. No. 49 Justin Boulais and Andrew Lutschaunig def. Juande Dios Abboud and Carl Gedlitchska (CSU) 6-1
  2. Cannon Kingsley and JJ Tracy def. Nico Jamison and Kade Mindry (CSU) 6-2
  3. Robert Cash and Preston Stearns vs. Devin Boyer and Lincoln Battle (CSU) 2-4, unfinished
SINGLES
  1. No. 34 Justin Boulais def. Lincoln Battle (CSU) 6-2, 6-0
  2. No. 17 Cannon Kingsley vs. Mikael Erler (CSU) 6-2, 3-5, unfinished
  3. No. 30 Jack Anthrop vs. Kade Mindry (CSU) 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
  4. No. 19 JJ Tracy def. Carl Gedlitchska (CSU) 6-0, 6-2
  5. Alexander Bernard vs. Nico Jamison (CSU) 7-5, 3-2, unfinished
  6. Robert Cash def. Devin Boyer (CSU) 6-1, 6-3

Oklahoma State 

DOUBLES
  1. No. 3 Robert Cash and JJ Tracy vs. No. 10 Tyler Zink and Isaac Becroft (OKST) 5-2, unfinished
  2. No. 49 Justin Boulais and Andrew Lutschaunig def. Alex Garcia and Francisco Pini (OKST) 6-1
  3. Jack Anthrop and Cannon Kingsley def. Leighton Allen and Alessio Basile (OKST) 6-0
SINGLES
  1. No. 34 Justin Boulais vs. No. 24 Tyler Zink (OKST) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
  2. No. 17 Cannon Kingsley vs. No. 82 Isaac Becroft (OKST) 7-6 (7-3), 5-3, unfinished
  3. No. 109 Alex Garcia (OKST) def. No. 30 Jack Anthrop 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
  4. No. 19 JJ Tracy def. Erik Schiessl (OKST) 6-1, 6-0
  5. Alexander Bernard def. Alessio Basile (OKST) 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
  6. Robert Cash def. Francisco Pini (OKST) 6-3, 6-0

Up Next

With its victories on Friday and Saturday, Ohio State improved to 32-1 on the season. The Buckeyes will host Mississippi State on Saturday at noon. The Bulldogs were the No. 15-ranked team in the final ITA Poll of the regular season. They have since reached the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament and defeated Alabama State and No. 37 Middle Tennessee in the NCAA Starkville Regional.

Softball

Over the weekend, Ohio State softball traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a three-game series with “That Team Up North.” The Buckeyes lost 9-6 on Friday but bounced back with a 6-0 win on Saturday. That left a rubber match to determine the series winner — and that winner was Ohio State.

On Sunday, the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines, 2-1, behind stellar performances from pitcher Allison Smith and outfielder Kirsten Eppele. Smith tossed a complete game for Ohio State, recording five strikeouts while allowing two hits and one earned run. Meanwhile, Eppele shined at the plate with two home runs (both solo shots) and one walk.

With two wins and one loss in the three-game series, Ohio State ended the regular season with a 31-19 record and a 12-11 mark in Big Ten competition. The Wolverines, who entered Sunday with a chance to win the conference's regular-season title, fell to 38-16 and 17-5 in the Big Ten, which allowed Northwestern to claim the conference crown.

Up Next

Ohio State earned the No. 6 seed at the Big Ten Tournament in Iowa City this week. The Buckeyes will start the tournament against No. 11 Wisconsin at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Big Ten Network will televise the game.

If Ohio State defeats Wisconsin, it will face No. 3 Rutgers in the quarterfinals at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday. Potential semifinal opponents for the Buckeyes and Scarlet Knights include No. 10 Maryland, No. 7 Penn State or No. 2 Michigan.

Congrats Grads

On Sunday, 203 current and former Ohio State student-athletes received degrees during spring commencement in Ohio Stadium. Among the group of graduates were national champions, conference champions, national players of the year and All-Americans. The Ohio State athletic department detailed those athletes and their accomplishments in a recent press release:

NOTE: This list has been modified for brevity and clarity.

Lauren Bernard, Hadley Hartmetz, Raygan Kirk, Quinn Kuntz, Stephanie Markowski and Amanda Thiele were members of the 2023-24 women's hockey NCAA championship team. The group also helped the team to its second consecutive WCHA regular season title and a program-record 35-win season. Gabby Rosenthal, who was a graduate assistant for the team this season, was a member of the team's first national championship team in 2021-22 and was a part of teams that won the program's first WCHA Final Faceoff championship in 2020 and regular season championship in 2023.

Thrower Hayden Tobias is a four-time USTFCCCA All-American in the shot put and most recently won the Big Ten Indoor Championship this winter after being the runner-up twice. Tobias ranks in the Top 5 in program history in both the indoor and outdoor shot put. Leo Uusimaki of the track and field team holds the program record in the heptathlon after winning the 2022 Big Ten Championship. Uusimaki has earned USTFCCCA All-American honors and was named First Team All-Big Ten. 

Women's golfer Caley McGinty has earned seven collegiate victories, including two in her time as a Buckeye. She holds the record for lowest round in program history, which is a nine-under 63. She has earned WGCA All-American honors three times and was named First Team All-Big Ten this season. 

Swimmer Hannah Bach is a five-time First Team All-American in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 medley relay. She has been selected to the All-Big Ten First Team four times and has won the 100 breast Big Ten title four times.

Women's gymnast Ella Hodges finished her final season as a regular season All-American on floor. She is the first Buckeye to earn regular season All-America honors since 2013. In her final routine as a Buckeye, she recorded a career-best 9.975 on floor in the NCAA Regional Final. Men's gymnast Kazuki Hayashi wrapped up his collegiate career by earning All-America honors on vault at the 2024 NCAA Championships inside the Covelli Center with a sixth-place finish. He helped the Buckeyes to their first regular-season Big Ten Championship in 2022.

Aaron Craft is one of Ohio State men's basketball's all-time greats. He is the program's career leader in both steals and assists and was twice named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the National Defensive Player of the Year in 2014. He led the Buckeyes to Big Ten regular season titles in 2011 and 2012 and the Big Ten Tournament title in 2013 as well as a NCAA Final Four appearance in 2012. Craft was just as big a star off the court. He was a three-time CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American and was twice named the Division I Academic All-American of the Year. As a senior in 2014, he was Ohio State's Big Ten Medal of Honor winner.

Victoria Carlson and Megan Wong are two-time overall institution national champions for the synchronized (artistic) swimming team.

Celeste Taylor spent her final collegiate season as a Buckeye, helping the women's basketball team to the Big Ten regular season title before being selected by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA Draft. Taylor was one of four finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award after being named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches. She also earned All-Big Ten Second Team and All-Big Ten Defensive Team honors in addition to being on the watch lists for the Naismith Trophy and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award.

Abbey Kuhn holds the track and field program records for both the indoor and outdoor women's pole vault. She has also earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors and helped the Buckeye women to Big Ten team titles. Bryannia Murphy is a four-time USTFCCCA All-American, excelling in both the 400m individually and the 4x400m relay. She is a member of both the indoor and outdoor program record holding 4x400m relay squads and is a three-time Big Ten Champion. Murphy has helped the Buckeyes to numerous Big Ten Outdoor Championships during her time on campus. 

Fencer Luca Fioretto had an outstanding first year for the Buckeyes, reaching the NCAA semifinals to earn First Team All-America honors. The silver medalist at the CCFC Championships and NCAA Regionals, he was part of the Buckeyes' CCFC men's championship team and earned first team all-region and all-conference accolades. Epee fencer Montserrat Viveros was a four-time NCAA individual qualifier and earned three All-America accolades, with 2020 first team honors and second team recognition in 2022 and 2024. She also earned four all-region honors and helped the Buckeye women to MFC and CCFC championships. Men's fencer Edriss Ndiaye was a three-time NCAA qualifier and earned All-America honors in both 2023 and 2024. Part of MFC and CCFC championship teams, he was a First Team All-Midwest Region choice in 2024 when he earned the gold medal at NCAA Regionals and captured the conference title.

Robert Cash has been one of the top doubles players in the country over his career. He is a two-time All-American and recently set the program's all-time doubles wins record. Cash led the Buckeyes to the ITA Indoor Team National Championship earlier this spring and was named the tournament's most outstanding player. He's been part of more than 130 team wins over the last five seasons as well as five Big Ten regular season championships.

Irina Cantos Siemers is the first three-time singles All-American in Ohio State women's tennis history. A four-time unanimous All-Big Ten selection, she was the 2023 Big Ten Player of the Year. She broke the program records for career singles and combined singles/doubles wins this year and is nearing the 100-career win mark in doubles. She and the Buckeyes have qualified for the NCAA Tournament each of her five years and she qualified for the NCAA singles championship for the fourth time this year.

Daniella Santos is a two-time All-Big Ten honoree in cross country, including first team accolades in 2022 when the Buckeyes advanced to the NCAA Championships as a team. She has two Top 7 finishes at regionals and was an individual qualifier to the national meet in the fall.

Maxwell Moldovan has re-written the men's golf record books as he will finish his career with the lowest scoring average in program history. The two-time All-American has three collegiate victories and has qualified for the last two US Opens, making the cut last year. The Uniontown, Ohio, native also has the most under-par rounds, the most rounds in the 60s and owns the three lowest single-season scoring averages in program history. Neal Shipley, the low amateur at this year's Masters Tournament, was a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection this year. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native leads the team with a 71.07 scoring average and has a team-best six Top 20 finishes. He finished fifth at the Big Ten Championship and also claimed his first collegiate victory this spring, winning the Southwestern Invitational. Shipley will play in the US Open later this summer before turning professional.

Jacob Pasteur was a two-time men's volleyball Al-American, earning first team accolades in 2023 and second team honors in 2024. He was the 2023 MIVA Player of the Year and a three-time all-conference selection, helping the Buckeyes to two MIVA Tournament titles.

In the Monday Skull Session, we also made note of 10 Ohio State football players who earned degrees on Sunday. They were Xavier Johnson, Ty Hamilton, Patrick Gurd, Chad Ray, Max Lomonico, Quinton Burke, Sam Hart, Parker Lewis, Cameron Martinez and Andrew Moore.

Overall, more than 12,000 students graduated from Ohio State on Sunday.

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