Ohio State Men's Tennis (2014/2019/2024 ITA Indoor National Champs, 17 Straight B1G Titles)

[gracelhink]

Buckeyes completed the UNC match with victories by Buchanan at #1 and McCarthy at #6. Final 6-1 and will post more about the write up from the official site later.
Buckeyes will be flying to Washington for the ITA indoor team tennis championship which begins Friday.
The OSU official site has this article about this elite NCAA event.
Link

As the fourth-ranked Ohio State men's tennis team currently faces No. 19 North Carolina, the team found out its first-round opponent for the 2011 ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship will be No. 13 Texas Tech. The Scarlet and Gray and Red Raiders will play at 6:30 p.m. ET Friday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, Wash. The entire tournament will run through Feb. 21 with the championship match slated to begin at noon. . . .
Historical Context
The Buckeyes' appearance in the 2011 edition of the championships is their fifth-consecutive. Ohio State was the runner-up in 2007 and 2008 and advanced to the semifinals a year ago. In 2009, the Scarlet and Gray played its way into the quarterfinals.
The ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship is the ITA's longest running national championship, which dates back to 1973. Stanford has won the most titles with 12 and is followed by UCLA with seven. From 1990-2002, Stanford and UCLA claimed every ITA National Team Indoor title. The team that has reached the final has gone on to win the NCAA crown 15 times since 1973.
How Did They Get There?
As one of 16 host teams during the ITA Men's Kick-Off Weekend, Ohio State defeated William & Mary (7-0) and UC Irvine (7-0) Jan. 29-30 at the Varsity Tennis Center. During the weekend, the Buckeyes were perfect in the singles lineup, going 12-0, while in doubles play, the Scarlet and Gray was 5-1. For complete stories on each match, click HERE.
Tournament Central
The University of Washington is serving as hosts of the 2011 ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championships. Live scores, as well as updated brackets and times, can be found by clicking HERE.
First-Round Matches (All times are pacific)
9 a.m.
No. 11 Louisville vs. No. 6 UCLA
No. 14 Georgia vs. No. 3 Tennessee
Noon
No. 10 Florida vs. No. 7 Stanford
No. 15 Duke vs. No. 2 USC
3:30 p.m.
No. 5 Texas vs No. 12 Kentucky
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 13 Texas Tech
6:30 p.m.
No. 8 Illinois vs. Texas A&M
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 16 Washington
For a complete report on each team, click HERE.
Did You Know?
Five of the teams that qualified for the team indoor championship are on the 2011 Buckeye schedule. Ohio State already has faced Georgia and won, 6-1. The Scarlet and Gray will face Louisville Feb. 27 before traveling to Texas A&M March 10. Big Ten rival Illinois will host Ohio State March 27, while Kentucky will welcome the Buckeyes April 6.
Stat Tracker
Under head coach Ty Tucker, Ohio State is 37-27 vs. teams competing in the 2011 edition of the indoor championships. The Buckeyes have met Illinois the most, compiling an 11-9 ledger under Tucker.
Ty Tucker's record vs. teams in the 2011 Team Indoor Championship
No. 1 Virginia - 1-3
No. 2 USC - 1-2
No. 3 Tennessee - 3-3
No. 5 Texas - 0-3
No. 6 UCLA - 3-1
No. 7 Stanford - Never Met
No. 8 Illinois - 11-9
No. 9 Texas A&M - 3-0
No. 10 Florida - Never Met
No. 11 Louisville - 4-0
No. 12 Kentucky -7-0
No. 13 Texas Tech - Never Met
No. 14 Georgia - 2-5
No. 15 Duke - Never Met
No. 16 Washington - 2-1
Nice to Meet You
Ohio State and Texas Tech have never met under the Ty Tucker era. The only previous meeting between the two teams was during the 1988-89 season. The John Daly led Buckeyes defeated the Red Raiders, 5-4.
Reviewing the Red Raiders
Texas Tech is 6-1 overall with its lone loss coming at the hands of No. 8 Stanford (5-2). The Red Raiders, currently ranked 14th in the ITA national standings, have posted victories over Top 50 squads No. 19 California (4-1), No. 32 Fresno State (6-1), No. 45 LSU (4-0) and No. 50 San Diego State (7-0).
Pacing Texas Tech in singles action is a pair of Red Raiders in Gonzalo Escobar and Vitor Manzini. Both have 16 wins on the season. With seven singles losses, Escobar is 4-2 at No. 1 singles, while Manzini, a loser of eight matches, is 3-2 at No. 4 singles. Raony Carvalho, who owns an 11-2 record, is currently on a 10-match win streak and owns a 7-0 mark at No. 2 singles.
In doubles, Escobar and Manzini have five wins on the season (four losses) and are 4-3 in dual play. The tandem's four wins are from the No. 2 position.
New Rankings
For the first time since Jan. 4 new Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings were released Monday. Ohio State has played eight matches since the last release and the Scarlet and Gray's hard work certainly were rewarded as seven different Buckeyes are ranked.
Junior Chase Buchanan, who was ranked 63rd in the inaugural standings, jumped 42 places to No. 21. Freshman Blaz Rola moved two spots to No. 5 after he was initially ranked seventh Jan. 4. Classmate Ille Van Engelen entered the rankings at No. 103 after joining the team just a month ago. Rounding out the rest of the rankings are senior Matt Allare (45), redshirt-sophomore Devin McCarthy (55) and redshirt-freshmen Peter Kobelt (86) and Nelson Vick (111).
In the doubles poll, Rola and Buchanan remain No. 6 in the nation. Allare and Kobelt moved up nine places to No. 10, while Balazs Novak and McCarthy pair up to form the No. 66 team in the country.

 

[colobuck79]

Buckeyes completed the UNC match with victories by Buchanan at #1 and McCarthy at #6. Final 6-1 and will post more about the write up from the official site later.
Buckeyes will be flying to Washington for the ITA indoor team tennis championship which begins Friday.
The OSU official site has this article about this elite NCAA event.
Link

Thanks for the updates!

 

[gracelhink]

The report on the 48th consecutive Buckeye road victory, a big win over #22 UNC as reported from the OSU Tennis site.
Link

The No. 4 Ohio State men's tennis team captured a 6-1 victory over No. 19 North Carolina Tuesday in Chapel Hill on its way to improving its record to an unblemished 9-0. The win marks the Buckeyes' 48th-consecutive regular season road triumph. With the win Ohio State (9-0, 0-0) earned its fourth-straight win over a ranked opponent and moves to 6-0-1 all-time against the Tar Heels (3-3, 0-0).
Head coach Ty Tucker improved to 22-4 vs. teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference in his first match after picking up his 300th career victory (all at Ohio State). The Buckeyes move to 34-30-1 all-time against teams from the ACC.
In doubles action, Buckeyes Matt Allare and Peter Kobelt, the 10th-ranked duo nationally, downed Brennan Boyajian and Jose Hernandez, 8-5, to move to 11-2 on the season. Boyajian and Hernandez entered the match as the No. 20 team in the country.
The sixth-ranked tandem nationally, freshman Blaz Rola and junior Chase Buchanan moved to 12-3 on the season after claiming the doubles point for Ohio State, with an 8-4 win over UNC's Stefan Hardy and Zach Hunter, who were ranked No. 44.
North Carolina's Cameron Ahari and William Parker concluded doubles play handing Devin McCarthy and Balazs Novak an 8-6 setback.
For the first time on the year Ohio State was tied with an opponent, as freshman Ille Van Engelen was handed a 6-1, 6-2 loss at No. 3 by Hardy.
But the tie was short-lived as the Buckeyes went on to win the rest of the singles matches and clinch the victory over UNC for the fourth-consecutive season. Allare, a senior co-captain and the 45th-ranked player nationally, won in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 over Ahari at the No. 4 position to give Ohio State the lead and pick up his 14th win of the season.
Novak, a native of Budapest, Hungary, earned the Buckeyes their second singles point with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Kyle Baker at No. 5. It was Novak's ninth-consecutive singles win and he improved to 13-2 on the season.
Rola, the fifth-ranked player in the country picked up the deciding victory in straight-set fashion, 6-2, 7-5, over No. 101 Boyajian. Rola improved to 21-2 on the season and has won eight-consecutive dual singles matches.
In the last of singles competition, Buchanan, who is No. 21 in the nation, dealt No. 30 Jose Hernandez a 7-5, 6-0 loss for his ninth victory in a row. No. 55 McCarthy moved to 12-2 on the season with a comeback win 6-7, 6-3, 10-6.
Up next, the Buckeyes will travel to Seattle, Wash., for the 37th Annual ITA Men's National Team Indoor Championship this weekend. Ohio State will be the No. 4 seed and will take on the Red Raiders from Texas Tech at 3:30 p.m. PT Friday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Tennis Match Results
No. 4 Ohio State 6, No. 19 North Carolina 1
Feb. 15, 2011 at Chapel Hill, N.C.
Singles
1. #21 Chase Buchanan (OSU) def. #30 Jose Hernandez (UNC) 7-5, 6-0
2. #5 Blaz Rola (OSU) def. #101 Brennan Boyajian (UNC) 6-2, 7-5
3. #107 Stefan Hardy (UNC) def. #103 Ille Van Engelen (OSU) 6-1, 6-2
4. #45 Matt Allare (OSU) def. Cameron Ahari (UNC) 6-2, 6-1
5. Balazs Novak (OSU) def. Kyle Baker (UNC) 6-1, 6-1
6. #55 Devin McCarthy (OSU) def. William parker (UNC) 6-7, 6-3, 10-6
Doubles
1. #10 Matt Allare/Peter Kobelt (OSU)) def. #20 Brennan Boyajian/Jose Hernandez (UNC) 8-5
2. #6 Blaz Rola/Chase Buchanan (OSU) def. Stefan Hardy/Zach Hunter (UNC) 8-4
3. Cameron Ahari/William Parker (UNC) def. #66 Devin McCarthy/Balazs Novak (OSU)) 8-6
Order of Finish: Singles (4, 3, 5, 2, 6, 1), Doubles (1, 2, 3)

 

[gracelhink]

Buckeyes will play in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, Washington.

#13 seed, Texas Tech will be the Buckeye's opponent today.
The match is scheduled for a 6:30 et start.
Here is a brief preview of the Red Raiders team from the TTU official tennis website.

The team is really excited about earning a spot in the team indoor championships," Red Raider head coach Tim Siegel said before the team departed Wednesday for Seattle. "Ohio State will be a very tough opponent and they are very well coached."
Texas Tech (6-1) is currently ranked No. 14 in the latest Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings with victories over #19 Cal, #31 Fresno State, #35 LSU, #52 UC-Irvine, and #54 San Diego State. The Red Raiders have three players ranked in singles - #18 Gonzalo Escobar, #22 Raony Carvalho, and #116 Rafael Garcia. Texas Tech also has two tandems ranked in doubles - #59 Gonzalo Escobar/Victor Manzini and #76 Raony Carvalho/Rafael Garcia.

Matchups in doubles will be a key.
Allare and Kobelt have not lost serve this year that I can remember.
Rola and Buchanan are the best #2 doubles team in the NCAA period. McCarthy and Novak can break serve at any time in a match. They struggle on serve occasionally, IMHO they surrender the net too easily(play double deep when serving) This double baseline is there individual game strength but in doubles makes them vulnerable to aggressive and proficient teams at the net.
that being said, I think we can and should sweep the double's point.
If Ty goes with Chase at #1 and Blaz at #2, I think we can win both but not overconfident about either. Carvalho and Escobar are both elite level talent.
Ilie at #3 has been learning about NCAA competition kind of like Dino Marcan last year. Coach Tucker keeps placing him at #3, Ilie is taking his lumps, but improving. A win here would be great for the team and also Ilie's confidence moving forward.
Allare, Novak and McCarthy are solid at #4, 5, & 6. I don't think that TTU has anyone who can take even one or two of these matches at the bottom.
In short I really like how this lineup sets up vs. TTU.

According to the the Nordstrom Tennis Center Livestat link they should also have a live video feed from each court. Buckeye fans can not only monitor the livestats progress but also watch Buckeye tennis live tonight at 6:30 pm.
The links to the ITA Team Indoor Championship central and livestats are found here:
ITA site Link.

Seattle Tennis Center livestats

Nordstrom Center Livestats. Where the Buckeyes play at 6:30!
the "watch Live" hyperlink next to each court should give the video feed.

Go Bucks!

 

[gracelhink]

the Buckeyes men's tennis program registered a 4-1 victory yesterday against Texas Tech Red Raiders.
OSU dropped the double's point but battled back to capture the first round win in the ITA Indoor Team Champioship from Washington.
Winners for the Buckeyes included Blaz Rola at #1, Devin McCarthy at #5, Basazs Novak at #6, and Matt Allare at #4 singles.

In the quarterfinal round today the 4th seeded Bucks will face #5 seed and a very strong University of Texas.
Buckeye fans may check the ITT Tournament site for match times, live stats, and video feed.
2 upsets from 1st round action yesterday involved #15 seed Duke over #2 USC. Also #10 Florida Gators upset #7 Stanford.

 

[buckeyeintn]

Bucks win 4-1 to advance to semis. Texas took the doubles point, but tOSU came back with wins by Buchanan, Allare, Novak and Van Engelen to seal it.

 

[brutus2002]

I told you this could be the year

 

[gracelhink]

The official site has the wrap up of a big win over #5 seed Texas and the looming semi against #1 Virginia.
link

The No. 4 Ohio State men?s tennis team downed No. 5 Texas, 4-1, in the quarterfinals of the 2011 ITA National Team Indoors Championship Saturday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, Wash. The Buckeyes will compete in the final four of competition against the winner of No. 1 Virginia and No. 8 Illinois at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday. The other semifinal will match No. 3 Tennessee with No. 15 Duke.
With the win, the Buckeyes are 12-9 all-time in the tournament. During the 2011 season, Ohio State has compiled a 5-0 record against ITA Top 25 teams (No. 18 Ole Miss, 6-1; No. 11 Georgia, 6-1; No. 19 North Carolina, 6-1; No. 14 Texas Tech, 4-1). Meanwhile, 12th-year head coach Ty Tucker picked up his first win against the Longhorns, moving to 1-3, while Ohio State (11-0) is now 1-5 vs. Texas (8-1) all-time.
In doubles action, Buckeyes Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola, the sixth-ranked team nationally, defeated the second-ranked tandem in the country, Ed Corrie and Jean Anderson, 8-5, giving Ohio State two chances in the other contests to claim the doubles point.
Texas? Kellen Damico and David Holiner ended senior Matt Allare and redshirt-freshman Peter Kobelt?s chances of a victory, defeating the duo, 8-5. In nail-biting fashion, Buckeyes Devin McCarthy and Balazs Novak were dealt a 9-7 loss at the hands of Vasko Mladenov and Daniel Whitehead, earning the doubles point for the Longhorns.
It was the second time this season and second-consecutive day in the tournament Ohio State lost the doubles point. The Scarlet and Gray defeated Texas Tech, 4-1, in the opening-round Friday after not claiming the doubles point.
In singles action Buchanan finished his first match of the tournament, winning in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 over No. 55 Jean Anderson. Buchanan, the nation?s 21st-ranked player, improved to 15-3 on the season.
Allare, one of three captains on the team, gave the Buckeyes a 2-1 advantage, downing Longhorn Ben Chen 6-1, 6-2. The victory was Allare?s 96th of his Ohio State career. Novak, another senior captain, improved to 11-0 in singles, earning a 6-4, 6-3 win over Whitehead. Novak now stands at 15-2 on the 2011 campaign.
True freshman Ille Van Engelen won his first match of the tournament, clinching the match for the Buckeyes, beating No. 61 Damico, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Van Engelen, the nation?s 103rd ranked player, moves to 7-2 in his rookie season.
Tennis Match Results
Quarterfinals of 2011 National Men's Tennis Team Indoor Championships
No. 4 Ohio State 4, No. 5 Texas 1
Feb. 19, 2011 at Seattle, Wash.
(Nordstrom Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #5 Blaz Rola (OSU) vs. #91 Ed Corrie (UT) 4-6, 6-3, 5-2, unfinished
2. #21 Chase Buchanan (OSU) def. #55 Jean Andersen (UT) 6-0, 6-2
3. #103 Ille Van Engelen (OSU) def. #61 Kellen Damico (UT) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
4. #45 Matt Allare (OSU) def. #97 Ben Chen (UT) 6-1, 6-2
5. #55 Devin McCarthy (OSU) vs. #93 Vasko Mladenov (UT) 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 2-1, unfinished
6. Balazs Novak (OSU) def. Daniel Whitehead (UT) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #6 Chase Buchanan/Blaz Rola (OSU) def. #2 Ed Corrie/Jean Andersen (UT) 8-5
2. #27 Kellen Damico/David Holiner (UT) def. #10 Matt Allare/Peter Kobelt (OSU) 8-5
3. Daniel Whitehead/Vasko Mladenov (UT) def. #66 Devin McCarthy/Balazs Novak (OSU) 9-7
Match Notes:
Texas 8-1; National ranking #5
Ohio State 11-0; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,4,6,3)
Quarterfinals of 2011National Men's Tennis Team Indoor Championships
T-3:30

 

[gracelhink]

A tough day for the Scarlet and Grey.
Buckeyes drop a 4-1 decision to #1 seed Virginia.

tomorrow's final will pit the Uva Cavaliers against the #3 seed Volunteers of UTenn. Count this fan shocked if UVa does not sweep the Vols.
Good run up until the semis for the Bucks, but for the 3rd day the Buckeyes dropped the double's point and this time could not recover in singles to claim the match.
Winning alone in singles was Devin McCarthy at #5. Yet, when the match was halted at 4-1 Novak was up a set and playing strong.
No need to make excuses for this performance, just Too much fire power up and down that UVa lineup.

 

[brutus2002]

Doubles has been our achilles heal against elite competition. We probably lose 4-3 if they play the games out but there is no shame in losing to Virginia. Virginia is loaded every year. Cingrats on a good tourny. Bring on the B10!!!

 

[gracelhink]

Doubles has been our achilles heal against elite competition. We probably lose 4-3 if they play the games out but there is no shame in losing to Virginia. Virginia is loaded every year. Cingrats on a good tourny. Bring on the B10!!!

Doubles came out flat and really struggled in this strong tourney, but the Bucks won the double's point in their first 9 matches, so this has the appearance of an anomaly, I hope?
My unprofessional eye made two observations from early matches which doubles won. . .
Allare and Kobelt reached the top ten ranking in the ITA by beating some high caliber teams, but now are struggling a bit. Allare and Kobelt are an intimidating pair when they get to the net. In conversation with those in the know, teams will attack Kobelt when he does not get to the net. In a competition this elite, vulnerabilities are magnified exponentially. In the Uva match, Ty paired Allare and Ilie VanEnglan together and dropped them to #3 in the lineup.
Same situation with McCarthy and Novak, they are both strong baseliners and will frequently surrender the net to try to attack from the baseline. Because they both have strong baseline games, they will break serve often, the downside is that they will often play double-deep on serve and surrender the net while serving! From the perspective of an opponent's return team, this double deep strategy on serve takes the pressure off, allows for more opportunities to get the return in play, and get to the net. It looks like other teams have done some scouting as well and discovered these vulnerabilities and tendencies. DMac and BiNo can turn things around and come on strong for the B10's.

Agree with the thoughts that if all matches finish we could have come out 4-3. Would have liked to see the others, Allare vs. Jenkins and Novak vs. UVA #6 finish out as well.
Here is the write up from the official OSU Tennis site

The No. 4 Ohio State men's tennis team lost, 4-1, to No. 1 Virginia Sunday in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, hosted by the University of Washington at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
In an ultra-competitive doubles session that saw each match come down to the wire, Virginia squeaked by the Buckeyes to claim the initial point of the match. It was the third-consecutive day and third time this year Ohio State fell behind, 1-0. The Scarlet and Gray previously had won the doubles point in their first nine matches to begin the season.
Senior co-captain Matt Allare and freshman Ille Van Engelen teamed up for the first time this season, only to come up short, 8-5, to Cavalier duo Drew Courtney and Steven Rooda at No. 3. Virginia's Michael Shabaz and Alex Domijan rallied from a 7-6 deficit to earn the win, defeating Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola, the nation's sixth-ranked duo, 9-7, at the No. 1 position.
All 10 players competing in singles matches at Nos. 1 through No. 5 were ranked in the ITA poll, ranging from No. 2 Domijan of Virginia to No. 103 Engelen of Ohio State.
Singh, the 13th-ranked player in the country put Virginia up 2-0, defeating Van Engelen in straight-sets 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3 singles. Redshirt-sophomore Devin McCarthy gave the Buckeyes hope, cutting Virginia's lead to, 2-1, with a 6-4, 7-5 upset over No. 23 Courtney at No. 5.
However, Virginia would prove its No. 1 ranking worthy, winning the next two matches at Nos. 1 and 2 to advance to the final to face No. 3 Tennessee. The second-ranked player nationally, Cavalier Domijan downed Buchanan 6-4, 6-3 and Shabaz handed No. 5 Rola a 6-4, 7-5 setback to claim the fourth and final point.
Up next, Ohio State will return to the Varsity Tennis Center in Columbus Thursday where it will host a doubleheader vs. Cleveland State Wright State at noon and 5 p.m., respectively. Admission is free.
Tennis Match Results
Semifinals of 2011 National Men's Tennis Team Indoor Championships
#1 Virginia 4, #4 Ohio State 1
Feb. 20, 2011 at Seattle, Wash.
(Nordstrom Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #15 Michael Shabaz (UVA) def. #5 Blaz Rola (OSU) 6-4, 7-5
2. #2 Alex Domijan (UVA) def. #21 Chase Buchanan (OSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. #13 Sanam Singh (UVA) def. #103 Ille Van Engelen (OSU) 6-1, 6-2
4. #25 Jarmere Jenkins (UVA) vs. #45 Matt Allare (OSU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-5, unf.
5. #55 Devin McCarthy (OSU) def. #23 Drew Courtney (UVA) 6-4, 7-5
6. Justin Shane (UVA) vs. Balazs Novak (OSU) 2-6, 2-2, unfinished
Doubles
1. Michael Shabaz/Alex Domijan (VA) def. #6 Chase Buchanan/Blaz Rola (OSU) 9-7
2. #66 Devin McCarthy/Balazs Novak (OSU) vs. Sanam Singh/Jarmere Jenkins (VA) -unf.
3. Drew Courtney/Steven Rooda (VA) def. Matt Allare/Ille Van Engelen (OSU) 8-5
Match Notes:
Ohio State 11-1; National ranking #4
Virginia 13-0; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,5,2,1)
Semifinals of 2011 National Men's Tennis Team Indoor Championship
T-2:45

 

[gracelhink]

UVa took the trophy today at the ITA Indoor team Championships at Washington with a 4-0 win over U Tenn.
Cavaliers are just so strong up and down the lineup--
Numbers 1-5, are all ranked in the top 25.
Tenn put up a battle in doubles winning at #1 but Va had enough to clinch at #2 and #3. Jenkins, Shabaz, and Domijian sealed the victory in straight sets at #4, 1 and 2 singles respectively.
The impact on Ohio State:
The good news after the semifinal appearance with wins over Texas Tech and Texas, and 2 losses by USC, the team ranking released tomorrow by ITA should place the Buckeyes at #3 nationally and potentially challenging U Tenn for#2 if they should stumble.
If tOSU can attain a #2 or 3 seed at the NCAA team tournament, it would strengthen their opportunities for advancing in the tournament brackets, i.e. potentially avoid #1 Virginia until the final.
Would also expect some strong/improved Buckeye singles rankings (Buchanan, Allare, McCarthy and Novak) when those are released on March 1.
:osu:

 

[gracelhink]

The Buckeyes climbed to #3 in the most recent ITA weekly ranking.

Coming in at the #1 position as expected is the U Virginia after their decisive victory at the ITA Indoors.
Ranked 2nd is the tourney runnerup, the Tennessee Volunteers.

Even though the poll does not give points accumulated for the teams, it would appear that the gap between #3 tOSU and #4 Texas would be substantial because of the Buckeye head to head victory at the ITA team indoor championships.

Making a major jump in the rankings from #17 to #6 is the surprising Duke Blue Devils, who shocked former #2 USC in the first round.

Illinois is also climbing in the rankings. This potentially bodes well for the Big Ten and tOSU schedule (additional opportunites to gain points vs. highly ranked opponents.)

Other Big Ten teams ranked in the top 75 are
TSUN at #23,
Minnesota at #27,
Wisconsin at #40,
Indiana at #44,
Michigan State at #49,
Nothwestern at #67,
and Penn State at #69.

 

[gracelhink]

Yesterday's article (prior to the ITA rankings release) from the OSU Tennis Site introduced the next 3 opponents to travel to Columbus. Two wins in the doubleheader Thursday will extend the Buckeyes home consecutive win streak to 120! Sunday's match with Louisville will be a challenge.
The Big Ten again honored Chase Buchanan as its athlete of the week for his performance in leading the Buckeyes to the semifinals at the ITA indoor team championship and a win vs. North Carolina.
Link

The No. 4 Ohio State men's tennis team returns home after encountering its first road trip of the season, defeating No. 19 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Feb. 15 and advancing to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship semifinals in Seattle, Wash., Feb. 18-20. The Buckeyes will host in-state teams Cleveland State and Wright State in a doubleheader Thursday and No. 12 Louisville Sunday in hopes of extending their current 118-consecutive home match win streak. The team is currently 8-0 at the Varsity Indoor Tennis Center.
The doubleheader begins noon Thursday vs. the Vikings; while the Raiders and Buckeyes will meet on the courts at 5 p.m. Ohio State and No. 12 Louisville will meet at noon Sunday. Admission is free.
ITA Recap
The Buckeyes advanced to the semifinals of the 2011 ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the second-consecutive year. Ohio State defeated No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 5 Texas, both by 4-1 scores, in the first round and quarterfinals, respectively, advancing to play No. 1 Virginia.. The Cavaliers beat the Buckeyes, 4-1, in a highly-contested dual.
Scouting the Vikings
Cleveland State enters the doubleheader with an overall mark of 4-3 on the season. Before losing at No. 12 Kentucky, 6-1, the Vikings had reeled off four-consecutive wins. They downed IPFW, 7-0; Niagra, 6-1; St. Bonaventure, 4-3, and Xavier, 5-2. CSU was defeated by two Michgan schools in its first two matches of the year. Western Michigan shut out the Vikings, 7-0, and Michigan State came away with a 6-1 win in East Lansing.
Buckeyes vs. Cleveland State
Ohio State stands at an undefeated 6-0 all-time vs. the Vikings. Under head coach Ty Tucker, the Buckeyes are 5-0 without giving up a single point. Last season Ohio State won 4-0 with No. 26 Justin Kronauge, Steven Williams and Shuhei Uzawa all earning singles points for the team. In doubles action Matt Allare and Uzawa, as well as Kronauge and Mike O'Connell garnered the doubles point with two 8-0 shutouts.
Raider Watch
Wright State comes to Columbus with a 6-2 record overall. They are coming off a sweep this past weekend vs. Ohio Dominican and Robert Morris. They have won four contests in a row. Earlier in the year they shut out SIU-Edwardsville, UNOH and Wittenberg. They also handed IPFW a 6-1 setback. Both losses came to teams on the Buckeyes schedule. Michigan State and Toledo were victorious by a 6-1 count vs. the Raiders on their respective home courts.
Buckeyes vs. Wright State
Ohio State is 6-0 all-time vs. Wright State, with wins in each of the past five seasons. All matches have also been played with Ty Tucker as head coach of the Buckeyes. In 2009-10, No. 3 Ohio State shut out the Raiders, 7-0, to move to 10-1 on the year. Dino Marcan paced the Buckeyes with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) win over Nick Camilleri. No. 43 Justin Kronauge also defeated Tore Waldhausen in straight sets 6-1, 6-0 to earn the match-clinching point at No. 2. Current Buckeyes Shuhei Uzawa, Balazs Novak, Devin McCarthy and Steven Williams also all picked up singles victories to claim the shutout. The Raiders have never scored a point against Ohio State.
Ohio State vs. Horizon League. . . .

Cardinals Glimpse
Louisville visits the Varsity Indoor Tennis Center with an overall record of 8-3. They are coming off two losses at the ITA National Indoor Team Championship in Seattle, Wash. No. 6 UCLA defeated the Cardinals in the first round and No. 14 Georgia also dealt Louisville a 4-1 setback. The Cardinals have shut out six opponents on the year. The list includes Old Dominion, NC State, ETSU, Columbia, Murray State and Morehead State. They also have defeated No. 18 Ole Miss, 4-2, and Oklahoma, 4-3. Their lone non-tournament setback came while visiting Tennessee, as the Volunteers handed Louisville a 7-0 loss.
Buckeyes vs. Louisville
Ohio State has an impressive 8-1 record all-time vs. the Cardinals. Head coach Ty Tucker has never lost to Louisville, going 3-0 while leading the Buckeyes. Louisville and Ohio State met last season for the first time since the 2001-02 season. The Buckeyes came out on top, 5-2. Senior co-captain Justin Kronauge claimed the match for the Buckeyes with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Simon Childs at No. 2. Current Buckeyes Chase Buchanan, Shuhei Uzawa and Matt Allare all helped earn singles points on the path to victory. Ohio State won, 4-0, in 2000-01 and, 4-1, the following year. . . .

With a victory Thursday, Ohio State will capture its 1,000th victory in program history. Entering the doubleheader they currently stand at 999-693-1. Head coach Ty Tucker has 303 wins in his 12 years tutoring the Buckeyes and his predecessor John Daly earned 427 in his 28 years as mentor.
Dominant in Columbus
The Buckeyes have won a school-record 118-consecutive home matches dating back to the 2002-03 season. They have won the first eight matches to begin the season at the Varsity Indoor Tennis Center; four coming against ranked teams. In the Big Ten, no other team in any sport has won as many consecutive contests at home than the Buckeyes. Ohio State was victorious in all 21 home matches last season, marking the seventh-consecutive year the team achieved perfection in Columbus. The home win streak began April 6, 2003 with a 5-2 triumph over Purdue. . . .

Chase Buchanan Nabs Second Big Ten Athlete of the Week Honor of the Year
For the second time this season, junior Chase Buchanan was named Big Ten Athlete of the Week the conference announced Tuesday. Buchanan (15-4) won four matches last week in wins against No. 24 North Carolina and No. 5 Texas.
The Gahanna, Ohio, native first paired with freshman Blaz Rola to form the sixth-ranked team in the nation and defeated No. 44 Stefan Hardy and Zach Hunter of North Carolina, 8-5, Feb. 15 in Chapel Hill. Buchanan, who jumped 42 places to No. 21 in the ITA polls Feb. 18, then downed No. 30 Jose Hernandez 7-5, 6-0 at No. 1 singles to fuel the Buckeyes' 6-1 win over the Tar Heels.
Buchanan added to his wins total at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship Feb. 18-20 in Seattle, Wash. Paired with Rola, the tandem beat Texas' No. 2 Ed Corrie and Jean Anderson, 8-5. Buchanan then followed with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Anderson to help the Scarlet and Gray prevail, 4-1 vs. Longhorns.
It is the eighth such honor of Buchanan's career. He also won the award Feb. 8 after leading the Buckeyes to wins against No. 18 Mississippi and No. 11 Georgia Feb. 4 and 6, respectively.
Tucker Gets 300th Victory

Streaking Buckeyes
Four Buckeyes are entering the contest Thursday boasting at least four-match win streaks. Senior Balazs Novak leads all Buckeyes with a current 11-match win streak on the season for an overall mark of 15-2. Novak won two matches Feb. 18 and 19 at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, downing Raphael Pfister of No. 14 Texas Tech 6-2, 6-0 and besting No. 5 Texas' Daniel Whitehead 6-4, 6-3. Novak is 7-0 when playing at the No. 5 position.
Redshirt-sophomore Devin McCarthy carries a win streak of nine into the match, while redshirt-freshman Nelson Vick enters the doubleheader with 20 wins. McCarthy defeated Gabriel Wanderley of No. 14 Texas Tech 6-3, 6-4 and No. 23 Drew Courtney of No. 1 Virginia 6-4, 7-5 in the ITA semifinals to keep his streak alive and move to 14-2 overall and 9-0 in dual single action. Vick's mark of 10-straight wins pushes his season record to 14-3.
Freshman Blaz Rola owned a win in nine straight contests before falling to No. 15 Michael Shabaz of No. 1 Virginia Feb. 20. Rola is 22-3 overall. . . .
The Buckeyes will kick-off their Big Ten season at 1:30 p.m. March 4th as they travel to State College, Pa., to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Go Bucks!

 

[brodybuck21]

The Buckeyes climbed to #3 in the most recent ITA weekly ranking.

Coming in at the #1 position as expected is the U Virginia after their decisive victory at the ITA Indoors.
Ranked 2nd is the tourney runnerup, the Tennessee Volunteers.

Even though the poll does not give points accumulated for the teams, it would appear that the gap between #3 tOSU and #4 Texas would be substantial because of the Buckeye head to head victory at the ITA team indoor championships.

Making a major jump in the rankings from #17 to #6 is the surprising Duke Blue Devils, who shocked former #2 USC in the first round.

Illinois is also climbing in the rankings. This potentially bodes well for the Big Ten and tOSU schedule (additional opportunites to gain points vs. highly ranked opponents.)

Other Big Ten teams ranked in the top 75 are
TSUN at #23,
Minnesota at #27,
Wisconsin at #40,
Indiana at #44,
Michigan State at #49,
Nothwestern at #67,
and Penn State at #69.

not a bad start to the season!