Around the Oval: Three Teams Clinch Conference, Gymnastics Finishes as NCAA Runner-Up and Volleyball Earns NCAA No. 1 Seed

By TJ Neer on April 24, 2017 at 1:05 pm
Sean Melton.
Ohio State Athletics.
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Postseasons for Winter sports are ramping up this week, and one of the most impressive finishes is men's gymnastics, who placed second in the NCAA with a score of 423.700.

Gymnastics

No. 3 Ohio State men's gymnastics entered the NCAA tournament with sky-high expectations, especially after their impressive showing at Big Tens. They did not disappoint.

Led by otherworldly performances from junior Sean Melton, who placed fourth in the all-around title with 86.400 — a personal best and sophomore Alec Yoder, who competed in his first all-around competition this year and placed sixth with a readout of 84.950, the Buckeyes were able to edge out the higher-ranked Stanford Cardinal to place second.

Oklahoma won the team title for the third consecutive year.

In all, five Buckeyes were named All-Americans, including Melton who was an All-American for three events (all-around, rings, high bar) and three different Buckeyes being named All-Americans on pommel horse (Yoder, sophomore David Szarvas and redshirt junior Jake Dastrup).

Volleyball

The team has stumbled a few times in recent weeks, as they went from a 40-match win streak to two losses in March, but they finished the season strong. After finishing undefeated in MIVA Conference competition in the regular season, the Bucks rolled through the MIVA tournament and swept Grand Canyon to secure the conference crown.

At the tournament, the Buckeyes swept two of their three opponents and ultimately won nine sets while only losing two.

The celebration didn't end there for the VolleyBucks, though, as the team was selected as the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA tournament which is being held in Columbus (at St. John Arena) May 2-6 this year.

The Buckeyes will certainly draw on the home-crowd energy in their attempt to defend their NCAA title this year.

 

Tennis

If you didn't already know, Ohio State boasts the top-ranked tennis player in the NCAA on both of its teams. Both teams are also ranked within the top five and just finished their season undefeated in conference.

On the men's side, this is nothing new. The team swept its Big Ten opponents for the 11th time in twelve years, securing yet another outright B1G regular season championship.

This season wasn't without drama, though, as the No. 2 Buckeyes came from behind 3-0 to No. 25 Illinois to secure a huge 4-3 win and close out the regular season with a bang.

For the women's team, however, it looks like the trend is just starting. This season marks the second time the team has emerged from Big Ten play unscathed.

With a 4-0 win over the Purdue Boilermakers Sunday, the team looked as dominant as they could be as they closed out an impressive regular season.

Perhaps even more impressive is that the team surrendered only one point to Big Ten competition all season, outscoring the conference 73-1.

The team now owns a 23-match win streak against Big Ten opponents, an 8-match shutout streak and, with their win over Purdue, extended their school-record for shutout victories in a season to 18.

LACROSSE

It's difficult to push men's lacrosse this low especially after a huge overtime win over No. 2 Maryland in The Shoe, but it just goes to show how impressive some of the other sports programs had to be this week.

The team began the week as the seventh-ranked squad in the nation, but they are no strangers to upsets, especially in Ohio Stadium.

Earlier this season they were able to down then-No. 1 (now No. 3) Denver 16-7.

The team wasn't able to dominate the Terrapins the same way, but they were able to keep all the fans on edge as they squeaked out an 11-10 overtime win that could move the squad into the top five in the NCAA.

Senior attackman Eric Fannell starred for the Bucks as he put in five goals on eight shots, while senior midfielder Johnny Pearson put in two goals of his own, including the overtime winner.

If they're able to move up past Maryland, they will be the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten with only one game left on the regular season schedule.

Baseball/Softball

Softball has been doing pretty well in recent weeks, but finished this week with a 2-2 mark and a series loss to Big Ten opponent Michigan State.

On Tuesday the team faced off against Pittsburgh and was able to edge out a 3-2 victory over the Panthers behind a home run from sophomore Lilli Piper and 6.1 dominant innings from senior Shelby Hursh.

Over the weekend, it was a different story.

Friday, the Buckeyes' offense couldn't support the pitching staff and the team lost the game 3-2. Saturday, the team's pitchers couldn't keep runs from being scored and the Bucks suffered a 7-6 loss to the Spartans.

On Sunday, the team finally put it together and looked like the dominant squad they have been this season and put up 6 runs while only allowing 2 to close the series with a win.

The baseball team sputtered this week, ultimately finishing 1-4 in four games including a dropped series to UNC-Greensboro.

Throughout the week, the team just couldn't seem to get in a rhythm and it all began with an 8-1 loss to Northern Kentucky that set the tone for their weekend set with UNC-Greensboro.

On Friday and Saturday, the team's pitching staff couldn't keep runs off the board and suffered 11-4 losses to the Spartans (the UNC-Greensboro variety, not the Michigan State variety). Sunday, the Bucks were able to capture their only win of the week with a 5-4 win.

Other Events

At the Jesse Owens Classic, Ohio State came out strong. The team captured 13 event titles, including two individual titles for senior Deshawn Marshall in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, as well as helping the team place first in the 4x100.

Men's golf finished fourth in a field of 15 at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. Sophomore Will Grimmer led the squad as he tied for ninth place at the 81-player tournament.

Women's golf finished third at Big Ten Championships as sophomore Jaclyn Lee earned All-Tournament accolades after finishing tied for fifth. Sophomore Niki Schroeder (11th) and senior Katja Pogacar (15th) also put forth strong performances to carry the squad.

Women's volleyball closed their Spring Season strong with a 4-0 win over Miami (OH) in St. John Arena Thursday.

Upcoming

April 27

  • Men's Golf, Big Ten Championships (Baltimore)
  • Women's Tennis, Big Ten Tournament (Champaign, Ill.)
  • Track & Field, Drake Relays (Des Moines, Iowa)

April 28

  • Softball vs. Iowa
  • Baseball vs. Nebraska
  • Track & Field, Drake Relays (Des Moines, Iowa)
  • Men's Tennis, Big Ten Championship (West Lafayette, Ind.)
  • Men's Golf, Big Ten Championships (Baltimore)

April 29

  • Men's Lacrosse @ Rutgers
  • Softball vs. Iowa
  • Baseball vs. Nebraska
  • Track & Field, Drake Relays (Des Moines, Iowa)
  • Men's Golf, Big Ten Championships (Baltimore)

April 30

  • Baseball vs. Nebraska
  • Softball vs. Iowa

 

 

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