In a matter of 15 seconds, the Ohio State's men's tennis team clinched a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals.
Survive and advance is the name of the game in the NCAA Tournament no matter the sport, and that's exactly what the Buckeyes did Saturday in the NCAA Super Regional at Ty Tucker Tennis Center in Columbus.
After the No. 3 Buckeyes won the first two doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead, the No. 15 Wildcats won two of three singles matches to tie the score, 2-2. In what became a thrilling finish, the final three matches went to a third set. Ohio State's Cannon Kingsley and JJ Tracy won their respective matches within 15 seconds of one another to clinch the Buckeyes' spot in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, the program's 16th NCAA quarterfinals berth.
It happened that fast!
— Ohio State M Tennis (@OhioStateMTEN) May 13, 2023
W. W. Advance pic.twitter.com/DjJCXPm9KA
| OSU | Arizona | Result |
|---|---|---|
| No. 24 Justin Boulais | No. 55 Colton Smith | L: 6-4, 7-5 |
| No. 11 Cannon Kingsley | No. 40 Jonas Ziverts | W: 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 |
| No. 22 JJ Tracy | No. 114 Gustaf Strom | W: 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 |
| No. 34 James Trotter | Herman Hoeyeraal | 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-6, unfinished |
| No. 41 Alexander Bernard | Jay Friend | L: 6-1, 6-4 |
| Jack Anthrop | Dominique Rolland | W: 6-3, 6-3 |
| OSU | Arizona | Result |
|---|---|---|
| No. 21 Robert Cash/Justin Boulais | No. 70 Jonas Zivertas/Jay Friend | W, 6-3 |
| No. 16 James Trotter/Andrew Lutschaunig | Colton Smith/Herman Hoeyeraal | 5-6, unfinished |
| Cannon Kingsley/JJ Tracy | Gustaf Strom/Eric Padgham | W, 6-3 |
It led to quite a celebration for the Buckeyes.
Feels so good!! pic.twitter.com/pfRqEdsdjk
— Ohio State M Tennis (@OhioStateMTEN) May 13, 2023
Ohio State has now won 17 straight matches to take its record to 32-2 on the season, including a perfect 20-0 record at home for the Big Ten champions.
A top-five program nationally for much of the season, Ohio State was atop the rankings as the No. 1 overall team in the ITA Team Rankings on Feb. 8. The Buckeyes held that position for several weeks until their losses to then-No. 7 Texas at the ITA Indoors and then-No. 5 South Carolina on the road.
Since that loss to the Gamecocks, Ohio State has won 17 consecutive matches, making Tucker's squad one of the hottest teams in the country as it advances to the NCAA quarterfinals.
The Buckeyes will take on No. 6 Georgia – who defeated No. 11 Harvard – Thursday night in Orlando. The quarterfinal matches are set for 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
