No. 7 Ohio State Secures 13th Victory of Season
Buckeyes win 4-1 over North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The 12th-ranked tandem of Devin McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen were the first to claim victory with an 8-2 defeat of North Carolina's Nelson Vick and Maik Ulrich on court 2
Feb. 27, 2013
Results
COLUMBUS, Ohio ? The seventh ranked Ohio State men?s tennis team improved to 13-2 on the season after winning 4-1 at No. 37 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday. The Buckeyes will look to win their second consecutive road match when they face Penn State at noon Saturday.
Chris Diaz secured the win for Ohio State after he defeated Taylor Meyer 6-4, 6-2 on court five. The redshirt freshman from Columbus, Ohio, and Bishop Watterson graduate improved to 10-2 in dual play and 7-1 in No. 5 singles.
Buckeyes Win Doubles Point
Ohio State won the doubles point for the 14th time this season. The wins against the Tar Heels came on courts Nos. 2 and 3. The 12th-ranked tandem of Devin McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen were the first to claim victory with an 8-2 defeat of North Carolina?s Nelson Vick and Maik Ulrich on court 2. At third doubles it was an 8-3 victory by Blaz Rola and Kevin Metka over Andrew Gores and Oystein Steiro that earned the Buckeyes the doubles point.
Singles Action
No. 2 Peter Kobelt increased the Buckeye lead to 2-0 by winning 6-3, 6-2 over Brett Clark at No. 2 singles. The next Ohio State victory came when McCarthy defeated William Parker 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. North Carolina earned its lone point when Steiro upset No. 28 Connor Smith 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. The Buckeyes bounced back with No. 40 Diaz?s victory against Meyer. With the match won, the remaining two singles matches went unfinished. Rola and Vick were at 4-6, 6-4, 2-1, while Constantin Christ and Stuart DePaolo finished at 4-6, 6-3, 2-0.
Up Next
The Buckeyes will continue their road trip as they head to University Park, Pa., to take on Penn State at noon Saturday. . . .
Peter Kobelt Earns His First Big Ten Athlete of the Week Honor
It is the first time Kobelt has earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors
Feb. 27, 2013 COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Peter Kobelt, a redshirt junior on the No. 7 Ohio State men?s tennis team, was named the Big Ten Conference Athlete of the Week, the league announced Wednesday. The native of New Albany, Ohio, currently is ranked second in the ITA poll. It is the first time Kobelt has earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors. On the season, Kobelt is 22-5 overall (8-2 dual) in singles play and 13-3 overall (9-1 dual) in doubles....
Against the 25th ranked Fighting Irish, Kobelt posted a 2-0 record. Kobelt first teamed up with Connor Smith to defeat Notre Dame?s Greg Andrews and Spencer Talmadge 8-3 on court No. 1. In second singles against Notre Dame, Kobelt pulled out a victory over Quentin Monaghan 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (14-12).
In the Buckeyes? match against the 24th ranked Tigers, Kobelt was again a perfect 2-0. Teaming up with Smith for first doubles for the second time during the weekend, the duo beat Roger Anderson and Tam Trinh 8-5. At No. 1 singles, Kobelt won against Chris Simpson 7-6 (11-9), 6-4....
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PSU-OSU Match Notes
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team welcomes #4 Ohio State to the Indoor Tennis Center this Saturday. The match begins at noon. Penn State enters the weekend at 5-6 after splitting a pair of matches last weekend.
Ohio State is the seventh ranked opponent that Penn State will face this year. The Nittany Lions are 1-6 so far in those matchups, with a 6-1 win over #59 New Mexico. Penn State has dropped four matches against ranked opponents by a score of 4-3.
Last weekend, the Nittany Lions dropped a 6-1 result to #34, but responded the next day with their own 6-1 win over William & Mary.
Senior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) enters this weekend with a mark of 6-3 out of the number one singles spot. He is one of four Nittany Lions with at least six wins. Welnetz also enters the weekend five wins away from tying Jamie Gresh for tenth all-time at Penn State with 71 wins.
Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) made his first appearance of the season in the number two spot against William & Mary. Bader is 8-3 on the year and has won eight of his last ten.
Sophomore Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) is 7-4 this spring and has a 5-0 mark out of the third spot.
Freshman Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) won a pair of matches last weekend to extend his winning streak to six matches.
Welnetz and C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) are 5-1 in doubles this spring and have won five straight matches. Guanhua Chen (DaLian, China) and Bader are 3-2.
Ohio State is 13-2 this year, with eight wins over ranked opponents. They have wins so far over #72 East Tennessee State, #64 Miami, #6 Georgia, #13 California, #5 Pepperdine, #25 Notre Dame, #34 LSU, and #37 North Carolina. Their lone losses are to #15 Texas A&M and #1 Virginia.
Last weekend, the Buckeyes knocked off Notre Dame and LSU, both by 7-0 scores. On Wednesday, they defeated North Carolina 4-1.
Ohio State has four players ranked among the Top 40 in the ITA Poll. Peter Kobelt is the highest ranked at number 2 in the nation. He has a 9-2 record this spring and 23-5 overall, with three wins over ranked opponents. Blaz Rola checks in at 17th in the country with a 9-0 record this spring and a 4-0 mark against ranked opponents.
Connor Smith owns an 11-2 record and a ranking of 28th. Chris Diaz rounds out the ranked Buckeyes at 40th with a 10-2 mark. Hunter Callahan and Devin McCarthy also have 9 wins each this spring.
The Buckeyes boast a strong doubles game as well, with two pairs ranked in the Top 20 in the nation. McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen are ranked 12th and hold an 11-1 mark, with three wins against ranked opponents. Kobelt and Connor Smith are 16th in the nation and are 7-1 this spring.
Fans can follow this weekend's match on our live stats page at http://www.gopsusports.com/livestats/c-tennis/xlive.htm. Fans can also follow us on Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN.
