The No. 2 Ohio State men?s tennis team (27-2; 8-0 Big Ten) netted a 5-2 win over No. 46 Northwestern (13-8, 6-3) Sunday at the outdoor Varsity Tennis Courts. The victory over the Wildcats extended Ohio State?s conference win streak to 88 matches.
The Buckeyes remain undefeated at home this season, currently posting a 19-0 record with only Michigan remaining on their home schedule (12 p.m., Sunday March 22). It was Ohio State?s 145th-consecutive victory at home overall.
The Buckeyes secured the win after redshirt-junior
Devin McCarthy downed Alex Pasareanu 6-4, 6-1 for the team?s fourth-consecutive singles win after losing the doubles point. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native?s win was his ninth-consecutive and 23rd overall.
The victory gives Ohio State 15 wins in its last 16 attempts vs. Northwestern, all under the direction of head coach
Ty Tucker. With the string of success under Tucker, the Buckeyes now lead the Wildcats 44-43 in the series.
Connor Smith and
Peter Kobelt quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead vs. Northwestern?s Sidarth Balaji and Tobias Reitz at No. 3 doubles en route to an easy 8-1 victory. Smith and Kobelt move to 22-4 overall, including a 15-1 mark on court three. At 8-0 in the Big Ten, the pair is the only remaining Buckeye team without a conference loss.
However, the remaining two doubles contests would not treat the Buckeyes the same, as Northwestern won on courts one and two to grab the first point. McCarthyand
Ille Van Engelen, ranked 23rd nationally, fell to Raleigh Smith and Pasareanu 8-5 on court two, before the nation?s top-ranked tandem of
Chase Buchanan and
Blaz Rola lost 8-6 in a hard-fought match vs. Josh Graves and Spencer Wolf.
It was only the second time this season Ohio State trailed after doubles play. The Scarlet and Gray also lost the doubles point at Notre Dame March 3 before travelling back to Columbus with a 5-2 triumph.
Rola, ranked seventh nationally, was the first Buckeye done in singles for the second-consecutive match, tying the match at 1-1 with a 6-0, 6-2 victory vs. Graves. The straight-set victory was the team-high 27th for the Ptuj, Slovenia, native.
The Buckeyes took a 2-1 lead after Buchanan, ranked No. 13, beat Wolf 6-0, 6-3 on court two to remain unbeaten in the Big Ten and earn his 98th singles win of his career. Smith extended Ohio State?s lead to two with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Chris Jackman at the sixth position giving the Tampa, Fla., native a 25-5 overall record in his first season as a Buckeye. McCarthy followed with his 19th dual win shortly after.
In the final two single matches, Van Engelen defeated Balaji 6-4, 6-4 and Kobelt lost a third-set super tiebreaker 11-9 after splitting the first two sets 6-4, 4-6.
Up next, Ohio State will meet Purdue at 3 p.m. Wednesday in West Lafayette in its final regular-season road match.
Tennis Match Results
#2 Ohio State 5, #46 Northwestern 2
Apr 15, 2012 at Columbus, Ohio
(Varsity Tennis Courts)
Singles
1. #7
Blaz Rola (OSU) def. Josh Graves (NW) 6-0, 6-2
2. #13
Chase Buchanan (OSU) def. #107 Spencer Wolf (NW) 6-0, 6-3
3. Raleigh Smith (NW) def. #58
Peter Kobelt (OSU) 4-6, 6-4, 11-9
4.
Ille Van Engelen (OSU) def. Sidarth Balaji (NW) 6-4, 6-4
5. #79
Devin McCarthy (OSU) def. Alex Pasareanu (NW) 6-4, 6-1
6. #118
Connor Smith (OSU) def. Chris Jackman (NW) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
1. Josh Graves/Spencer Wolf (NW) def. #1 Chase Buchanan/Blaz Rola (OSU) 8-6
2. Raleigh Smith/Alex Pasareanu (NW) def. #23 Devin McCarthy/Ille Van Engelen (OSU) 8-5
3. Peter Kobelt/Connor Smith (OSU) def. Sidarth Balaji/Tobias Reitz (NW) 8-1
Match Notes:
|Northwestern 13-8; National ranking #46
Ohio State 27-2; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,6,2,5,4,3)
Official: Vince Solomon T-3:32 A-189
to avoid the 
whitehorse team. If my assumption is correct don't we have to be looking over our shoulders at Georgia or are they too far back
Also what is the advantage of being #2 or #3 as long as we avoid the team mentioned above.