In a battle of Top 25 teams, the second-ranked Ohio State men's tennis team (25-2, 8-0) blanked No. 24 Minnesota (15-4, 6-2), 7-0, Sunday at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn. The victory pushes the Buckeyes' Big Ten win streak to 74.
Freshman
Blaz Rola added to his team-high in wins with a 7-6 (1), 6-3 win at No. 2 vs. Rok Bonin to clinch the win for Ohio State. Rola now has 31 victories on his rookie campaign to go along with an 11-1 record at No. 2.
At doubles, Ohio State got off to a quick start winning the first two matches. Senior co-captain
Balazs Novak and Rola won at No. 3 vs. Juan Pablo Ramirez and Tobias Wernet, 8-2. The Buckeye duo moves to 9-1 and 7-0 in the Big Ten when paired together, all at the No. 3 position.
Matt Allare, a senior co-captain and redshirt-freshman
Peter Kobelt claimed the doubles point for the visiting Buckeyes for the second time during the weekend. The nation's 12th ranked team won 8-3 at No. 1 vs. Phillip Arndt and Brendan Ruddock to move to 22-7 overall and 13-4 at the No. 1 spot.
At No. 2 doubles,
Chase Buchanan and
Shuhei Uzawa had their six-match win streak come to a close, falling 8-4 to Bonin and Julian Dehn. The Ohio State tandem dropped to 8-2 on the season.
The Scarlet and Gray are 86-26 so far in doubles play on the season.
In singles competition, No. 12 Buchanan improved to 27-5 overall and 22-2 in dual singles with a 6-0, 6-3 decision over Wernet on court one. Buchanan, the Big Ten Athlete of the Week, is undefeated at 8-0 in league play and 13-1 when competing at the No. 1 position.
Allare, the nation's 43rd ranked player, moved to 14-0 at the No. 4 spot, beating Ruddock 6-1, 6-4 to give the visiting Buckeyes a 3-0 advantage. Allare's record on the year is now 29-3 overall and 20-1 in dual singles. The win was the 17th in a row for the Mason, Ohio, native.
Rola's win on court two clinched the Buckeye's eighth conference win on the 2010-11 campaign.
Rounding out singles action, Ohio State would win the final three contests to preserve its second-consecutive Big Ten shutout.
Devin McCarthy, a Cincinnati, Ohio, native, earned his fourth-straight win by beating Michael Sicora on court six, 7-6 (3), 6-4. The redshirt-sophomore is now 26-4 overall, including a 21-2 mark in dual play.
Novak defeated Dehn at No. 5 6-2, 6-4 to improve his overall record to 25-5, while freshman Ille Van Engelen came back from a first set loss to down Arndt, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 1-0, for his 15th win.
Up next, Ohio State will conclude the regular season when it returns home to take on No. 23 Indiana at 4 p.m. April 22 and No. 67 Purdue at noon April 24. The Hoosiers currently are tied with the Buckeyes atop the Big Ten standings at 8-0 in league play.
No. 2 Ohio State 7, No. 24 Minnesota 0
April 17, 2011
Baseline Tennis Center
Minneapolis, Minn.
Singles
1. No. 12
Chase Buchanan (OSU) def. No. 101 Tobias Wernet (MINN) 6-0, 6-3
2. No. 5
Blaz Rola (OSU) def. Rok Bonin (MINN) 7-6 (1), 6-3
3. No. 112 Ille Van Engelen (OSU) def. Phillip Arndt (MINN) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 1-0 (8)
4. No. 43
Matt Allare (OSU) def. Brendan Ruddock (MINN) 6-1, 6-4
5. No. 102
Balazs Novak (OSU) def. Julian Dehn (MINN) 6-2, 6-4
6. No. 65
Devin McCarthy (OSU) def. Michael Sicora (MINN) 7-6 (3), 6-4
Doubles
1. No. 12
Matt Allare/
Peter Kobelt (OSU) def. Phillip Arndt/Brendan Ruddock (MINN) 8-3
2. Rok Bonin/Julian Dehn (MINN) def. No. 66
Chase Buchanan/
Shuhei Uzawa (OSU) 8-4
3.
Balazs Novak/
Blaz Rola (OSU) def. Juan Pablo Ramirez/Tobias Wernet (MINN) 8-2
Match Notes
- Ohio State 25-2 (8-0 Big Ten); National ranking No. 2
- Minnesota 15-4 (6-2 Big Ten); National ranking No. 24
- Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,4,2,6,5,3)
- The Scarlet and Gray improve to 26-38 all-time vs. the Gophers, having now won the previous 10 meetings. Ohio State has not lost to Minnesota since the 2002-03 season. Head coach Ty Tucker moves to 13-3 against the Gophers.
- The win pushes the Buckeyes' Big Ten win streak to 74 as the team has now been victorious in 126 of their last 131 league contests, including postseason play.
- The Buckeyes have now come away with wins in 56 of their last 57 road matches, dating back to the 2005-06 campaign. The team is 9-1 on the road this season.
- Also since the 2005-06 season, Ohio State, as a Top 25 team, has gone 189-12 (.941).
- With the win, the five-time defending Big Ten champions improve to 11-2 on the year against Top 25 competition. Since 1999, the mark stands at 76-40 vs. Top 25 opponents and moves to an impressive 70-11 since the 2005-06 season.
