Jami Jurich
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Ohio State spring sport storylines other than football you should be following
Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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The No. 1 men’s tennis team keeps dominating, and an OSU golfer surprises at the Masters, plus more Buckeye news.
Whether you’re looking to get on the tennis train, take a few laps around the track, or root, root, root for the Buckeyes’ baseball and softball teams, here at LGHL, we’re keeping you up-to-date on what’s happening with all your Buckeye sports teams.
The baseball team (17-15, 5-4) had a busy week, winning four of five games—all at home—in the last seven days.
The week started with a 6-4 win over Bowling Green last Tuesday, followed by a 13-7 win over Morehead State the next day, a game in which Mitchell Okuley hit two home runs.
Up next was a three-game series against preseason Big Ten favorite Iowa (18-17, 6-6), which the Buckeyes took, 2-1, dropping the game Saturday before finishing the series with a dominant win in only eight innings Sunday.
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The series opener on Friday marked the Buckeyes’ fourth consecutive victory, 8-5. The Buckeye bats were hot, with Joseph Mershon leading the Buckeyes with a season-high four hits, along with three stolen bases. Henry Kaczmar, Matthew Graveline, and Nick Giamarusti put up two hits apiece, and Landon Beidelschies recorded the win for OSU, striking out seven in 5.2 innings pitched.
Saturday was a more defensive battle, with the Hawkeyes evening the series to end OSU’s four-game win streak, 3-2. Tyler Pettorini led the Buckeyes with two hits, and Isaac Cadena scored the first home run of his career, a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh. Gavin Bruni recorded the loss for the Buckeyes, despite a strong performance. He struck out six, allowing two runs on three hits in five innings pitched.
It was Ohio State domination on Sunday, though, with the Buckeyes winning the game, 11-1, to clinch the series. The Hawkeyes got on the board quickly, posting their only run in the first inning. From there, it was all Buckeye bats. Jacob Morin earned the win in the team effort, with Trey Lipsey, Okuley, Mershon, and Ryan Miller leading OSU with two hits apiece. Lipsey drove in three runs, and Josh Stevenson had a team-high, season-high four RBIs.
Next up, the boys in Scarlet finish their six-game homestand on Tuesday against Wright State. They’ll hit the road to take on Kent State on Wednesday, finishing the weekend in Ann Arbor for a three-game series against Michigan, Friday-Sunday.
The Buckeye softball team (21-17) shut out Ohio (20-19), 8-0, at home on Wednesday, before dropping two of three at Wisconsin over the weekend.
Sophomore Hannah Church scored her first home run at Buckeye Field in the Ohio matchup—and it was not just any home run. The Buckeyes were up, 3-0, after the third, but Church’s home run—a grand slam—added the cherry on top in what would be a five-run fifth inning.
The Buckeyes finished the game with five hits from five different players in the victory.
They then headed to Madison, Wisconsin, for a three-game series against the Badgers over the weekend. The Badgers took the first two games of the series, 8-4, and 10-5, respectively.
In Friday’s game, the Buckeyes held a 3-2 lead in the third, but the Badgers managed to tie the game in the fourth and sealed their victory in the fifth. Kami Kortokrax led OSU in the game, with three hits and two RBIs. Allison Smith pitched for OSU, and her five strikeouts moved her into fifth place on the program’s all-time strikeouts list, with 496.
On Saturday, the Badgers never trailed, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in the first. The Buckeyes pulled within one, down just 4-3 in the top of the fifth, but a six-run bottom half of the inning created a chasm too wide for OSU to clear. The Buckeyes had no trouble getting on base, but getting them home proved challenging, with 17 runners stranded in the first two games of the series.
One player who had no trouble getting home? Kirsten Eppele, who stole home in the fourth.
The Buckeyes rallied to victory on Sunday, however, in a 9-5 come-from-behind victory. After trailing, 4-3, for four innings, a six-run fifth for the Buckeyes sealed their victory. Smith won her 13th win of the season, recording her 500th career strikeout and becoming just the fifth player in OSU history to do so.
McKenzie Bump finished 3-for-3, with a home run and two RBIs. Jasmyn Burns also finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Bump and Burns hit back-to-back home runs.
Next up, the Buckeyes will begin a nine-game homestand, kicking off tonight with a doubleheader against Penn State. They play again Wednesday against Maryland before a three-game series against Maryland this weekend.
Off the field, Sam Hackenbrecht was named a Big Ten Medal of Honor Finalist for her excellence both on and off the field.
The women’s golf team ended their regular season on a high note in Columbus this weekend, where they won the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational at the OSU Scarlet Course after shooting back-to-back rounds of 283 (7-under, overall).
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They won by 20 strokes in a tournament comprised of 10 other Big Ten teams and Kent State. Senior Caley McGinty won the individual title—her seventh collegiate career title—with a score of 210 (-6). Faith Choi and Kary Hollenbaugh tied for second overall, each shooting 214.
Next up, the women head to Havre de Grace, Maryland, for the Big Ten Championships at Blue Rock Golf Course, this Friday to Sunday.
The men’s team had the week off from competition. Instead, they were busy preparing for their next outing, the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate tournament in Columbus, this Friday to Sunday.
One Buckeye had an extra-special weekend, though. Senior Neal Shipley went on to become the only amateur to make the cut at the Masters. He spent Sunday of the competition paired with Tiger Woods, and he earned the 2024 low amateur Silver Cup.
The women’s lacrosse team (7-7, 1-4) played the final two games of a three-game road stretch and fell both times, first to Louisville, followed by No. 1 Northwestern.
Their non-conference matchup against Louisville was a 22-10 decision, though it remained close in the first half. Louisville led, 4-2, at the end of the first quarter, before both teams scored four goals in the second. The Cardinals got going quickly in the second half though, putting up four of the first five goals in the third quarter, which ended 14-8, and then out-scoring the Buckeyes 8-2 in the fourth.
Still, freshman Kampbell Stone had her first career hat trick to lead the Buckeyes, and Jamie Lasda, who had a stellar week across both games, recorded a career-best 11 draw controls. This ties her for fifth-most in a single game in program history. Lasda leads the Buckeyes this season.
Kate Tyack also had two goals, her fifth career multiple-goal outing.
Saturday’s game against Northwestern (12-2, 4-1) brought a similar outcome, with the Buckeyes falling, 19-10. The Wildcats built an early lead to finish the first quarter up, 8-2. That woke the Buckeyes up.
The Buckeyes went on to outscore Northwestern, 7-5, in the second and third quarters, heading into the fourth down, 13-9. They couldn’t get the job done, scoring just one goal in the fourth, while the Wildcats put up six.
Emily Magalotti, Leah Sax, Zoe Coleman, and Lasda each scored twice. Lasda’s performance brought her season tally to a team-best and career-best 37 goals, the first of which was her 100th career goal. Tyack, for her part, has tallied more than three points in each of the last four games and is on a six-game goal streak.
Regan Alexander, the senior goalie, recorded 12 saves. Alexander was named a finalist for the 2024 Big Ten Medal of Honor, which is awarded to one male and one female student-athlete for excellence on and off the field, this past Monday.
Next up, the women will host Rutgers this coming Thursday. It will mark the regular-season home finale and OSU’s Senior Day.
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The men’s team (6-7, 1-3) lost a heartbreaker in overtime at home against No. 5 Johns Hopkins, 11-10. It was their fourth matchup in five weeks against a top-10 team.
It was a hard-fought game, with the Buckeyes leaving everything on the field in the matchup, after starting strong and jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. It marked just the third time this season Johns Hopkins was held scoreless in the first quarter.
OSU led by as many as five goals throughout the game, and led 7-4 at half and 9-6 at the end of the third, but the Jayhawks found their stride at the end of the third, going on a five-goal run that went into the fourth to give them the lead for the first time in the game, 10-9.
The OSU defense wasn’t giving up that easily, forcing three turnovers, and Alex Marinier tied the game up for the Buckeyes to force overtime. It marked his third hat trick of the season.
Overtime was an even match, with the Jayhawks claiming victory with only 24 seconds remaining in extra time. It was the Buckeyes’ first overtime game this season.
Freshman goalie Caleb Fyock had 11 saves, his fifth-straight game with double-digit saves.
Next, the men will close the regular season at home when they host Michigan this Saturday, April 20.
The Ohio State Track & Field team split time this weekend at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational and Bryan Clay Invitational this past Friday and Saturday, posting some memorable performances throughout the weekend.
Most notably, Daniella Santos and Andrea Kuhn moved into the top five in program history in the 5000m on Friday, with times that place them third and fifth in OSU history, respectively. Santos finished with a time of 15:56.71, while Kuhn posted a time of 15:57.72.
Other Buckeyes to place at the Bryan Clay Invite included Columba Effiong, who finished third in the women’s 200m with a PR of 23.82, and DJ Fillmore, whose long jump of 7.47m / 24’6.25” made him the runner-up.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes swept the shot put competition at Tom Jones, with Lacey Stringer moving into third on OSU’s all-time leaders list with a mark of 17.21m / 56’5.75”. Adam Riedinger posted a season-best throw of 17.53m / 57’6.25” on his way to victory on the men’s side.
The Buckeyes also placed well in other events throughout the day. Faith Bender placed third in discus with a season-best 56.91m / 186’8”, while Tanner Watson was the men’s runner-up with a throw of 54.45m / 178’7”. Sophie Fong and Morgan Fijalkowski finished second and fourth, respectively, in the pole vault. Amaya Ugarte cleared 1.84m / 6’0.5” in the high jump to finish in third.
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Up next, the Buckeyes will host the Jesse Owens Classic this coming Friday and Saturday.
The No. 12 Ohio State women’s rowing team had the weekend off. They’re busy preparing for their trip to Sarasota, Florida, for the Big Ten Invite, this coming Friday, April 19.
The No. 3-seed Buckeyes’ men’s volleyball team (20-8) advanced in the MIVA Tournament after defeating No. 6-seed Lewis (15-15) last Saturday in Columbus in the tournament quarterfinals, 3-1.
Ohio State posted scores of 26-24, 25-27, 25-21, 25-20 over the Flyers, dropping only the second set in the match. Shane Wetzel and Jacob Pasteur combined for 33 kills, while Cole Young recorded his 100th career block in the matchup.
Now, the Buckeyes move on to face No. 2-seed Loyola Chicago in the tournament semifinal this Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. The match, along with the rest of the tournament matches from here on out, will take place at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. The Buckeyes lost both their previous matchups with the Ramblers, 2-3, this season.
The No. 16 Ohio State women’s tennis team (15-6, 8-1) defeated Iowa, 4-1, in Iowa City Friday night, followed by a 4-1 victory on the road at Nebraska on Sunday to close out its regular season road schedule.
Friday’s win came with four straight-set singles wins from Luciana Perry, Sydni Ratliff, Shelly Bereznyak, and Audrey Spencer, with Iowa claiming only the doubles point (though the duo of Ratliff and Spencer did win their doubles match).
In Lincoln, the Buckeyes extended their win streak to eight matches, taking the doubles point on victories from the duos of Irina Cantos Siemers and Akanksha Bhan, along with that of Alessia Cau and Madeline Atway. Siemers, Ratliff, and Spencer also posted singles victories.
Up next, the women return home to end the regular season with matches Friday against Northwestern and Sunday against Illinois (the Buckeyes’ Senior Day).
The No. 1 Ohio State men’s tennis team keeps on rolling, after defeating both Big Ten schools from that state up north this weekend. They remain atop the Big Ten standings as the lone undefeated team in the conference, improving to 25-1 on the season.
The weekend began with a 6-1 home victory over No. 18 Michigan State, who entered the match also undefeated in conference play. Robert Cash, Cannon Kingsley, and JJ Tracy all won in both singles and doubles.
The Buckeyes first clinched the doubles’ point, thanks to victories from Cash and Bryce Nakashima, along with Kingsley and Tracy. OSU then won the first four singles matches, with singles wins coming from the aforementioned players, as well as Jack Anthrop and Alexander Bernard.
On Sunday, OSU took down rival Michigan, sweeping them, 4-0. While the doubles point was a rollercoaster requiring the tiebreaker, victories from the duos of Kingsley/Anthrop and Cash/Tracy clinched the point for the Buckeyes.
In singles play, Anthrop, Tracy, and Bernard all posted victories to seal the results.
The Buckeyes hit the road this weekend to take on Nebraska Friday and Wisconsin Sunday. They need just one win to clinch a share of the Big Ten title—it would be their 18th consecutive conference title if they’re able to stay on track.
Siemers and Cash, it is worth noting, are both also Big Ten Medal of Honor Finalists.
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Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
@OhioStAthletics Twitter
The No. 1 men’s tennis team keeps dominating, and an OSU golfer surprises at the Masters, plus more Buckeye news.
Whether you’re looking to get on the tennis train, take a few laps around the track, or root, root, root for the Buckeyes’ baseball and softball teams, here at LGHL, we’re keeping you up-to-date on what’s happening with all your Buckeye sports teams.
Baseball
The baseball team (17-15, 5-4) had a busy week, winning four of five games—all at home—in the last seven days.
The week started with a 6-4 win over Bowling Green last Tuesday, followed by a 13-7 win over Morehead State the next day, a game in which Mitchell Okuley hit two home runs.
Up next was a three-game series against preseason Big Ten favorite Iowa (18-17, 6-6), which the Buckeyes took, 2-1, dropping the game Saturday before finishing the series with a dominant win in only eight innings Sunday.
The series opener on Friday marked the Buckeyes’ fourth consecutive victory, 8-5. The Buckeye bats were hot, with Joseph Mershon leading the Buckeyes with a season-high four hits, along with three stolen bases. Henry Kaczmar, Matthew Graveline, and Nick Giamarusti put up two hits apiece, and Landon Beidelschies recorded the win for OSU, striking out seven in 5.2 innings pitched.
Saturday was a more defensive battle, with the Hawkeyes evening the series to end OSU’s four-game win streak, 3-2. Tyler Pettorini led the Buckeyes with two hits, and Isaac Cadena scored the first home run of his career, a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh. Gavin Bruni recorded the loss for the Buckeyes, despite a strong performance. He struck out six, allowing two runs on three hits in five innings pitched.
It was Ohio State domination on Sunday, though, with the Buckeyes winning the game, 11-1, to clinch the series. The Hawkeyes got on the board quickly, posting their only run in the first inning. From there, it was all Buckeye bats. Jacob Morin earned the win in the team effort, with Trey Lipsey, Okuley, Mershon, and Ryan Miller leading OSU with two hits apiece. Lipsey drove in three runs, and Josh Stevenson had a team-high, season-high four RBIs.
Next up, the boys in Scarlet finish their six-game homestand on Tuesday against Wright State. They’ll hit the road to take on Kent State on Wednesday, finishing the weekend in Ann Arbor for a three-game series against Michigan, Friday-Sunday.
Softball
The Buckeye softball team (21-17) shut out Ohio (20-19), 8-0, at home on Wednesday, before dropping two of three at Wisconsin over the weekend.
Sophomore Hannah Church scored her first home run at Buckeye Field in the Ohio matchup—and it was not just any home run. The Buckeyes were up, 3-0, after the third, but Church’s home run—a grand slam—added the cherry on top in what would be a five-run fifth inning.
The Buckeyes finished the game with five hits from five different players in the victory.
They then headed to Madison, Wisconsin, for a three-game series against the Badgers over the weekend. The Badgers took the first two games of the series, 8-4, and 10-5, respectively.
In Friday’s game, the Buckeyes held a 3-2 lead in the third, but the Badgers managed to tie the game in the fourth and sealed their victory in the fifth. Kami Kortokrax led OSU in the game, with three hits and two RBIs. Allison Smith pitched for OSU, and her five strikeouts moved her into fifth place on the program’s all-time strikeouts list, with 496.
On Saturday, the Badgers never trailed, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in the first. The Buckeyes pulled within one, down just 4-3 in the top of the fifth, but a six-run bottom half of the inning created a chasm too wide for OSU to clear. The Buckeyes had no trouble getting on base, but getting them home proved challenging, with 17 runners stranded in the first two games of the series.
One player who had no trouble getting home? Kirsten Eppele, who stole home in the fourth.
The Buckeyes rallied to victory on Sunday, however, in a 9-5 come-from-behind victory. After trailing, 4-3, for four innings, a six-run fifth for the Buckeyes sealed their victory. Smith won her 13th win of the season, recording her 500th career strikeout and becoming just the fifth player in OSU history to do so.
#Buckeyes drop a six-spot in the fifth and take a 9-4 lead over Wisconsin.
A recap of some of the big moments #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/2tJv4CfixY
— Ohio State Softball (@OhioStateSB) April 14, 2024
McKenzie Bump finished 3-for-3, with a home run and two RBIs. Jasmyn Burns also finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Bump and Burns hit back-to-back home runs.
Next up, the Buckeyes will begin a nine-game homestand, kicking off tonight with a doubleheader against Penn State. They play again Wednesday against Maryland before a three-game series against Maryland this weekend.
Off the field, Sam Hackenbrecht was named a Big Ten Medal of Honor Finalist for her excellence both on and off the field.
Golf
The women’s golf team ended their regular season on a high note in Columbus this weekend, where they won the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational at the OSU Scarlet Course after shooting back-to-back rounds of 283 (7-under, overall).
They won by 20 strokes in a tournament comprised of 10 other Big Ten teams and Kent State. Senior Caley McGinty won the individual title—her seventh collegiate career title—with a score of 210 (-6). Faith Choi and Kary Hollenbaugh tied for second overall, each shooting 214.
Next up, the women head to Havre de Grace, Maryland, for the Big Ten Championships at Blue Rock Golf Course, this Friday to Sunday.
The men’s team had the week off from competition. Instead, they were busy preparing for their next outing, the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate tournament in Columbus, this Friday to Sunday.
One Buckeye had an extra-special weekend, though. Senior Neal Shipley went on to become the only amateur to make the cut at the Masters. He spent Sunday of the competition paired with Tiger Woods, and he earned the 2024 low amateur Silver Cup.
Neal Shipley is a grad student at Ohio State and the only amateur who made the cut at the Masters.
His caddie is one of his good high school friends, Carter Pitcairn.
Today, the two are casually spending Sunday at Augusta with their pairing: Tiger Woods.pic.twitter.com/EACTFRBdNd
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 14, 2024
Lacrosse
The women’s lacrosse team (7-7, 1-4) played the final two games of a three-game road stretch and fell both times, first to Louisville, followed by No. 1 Northwestern.
Their non-conference matchup against Louisville was a 22-10 decision, though it remained close in the first half. Louisville led, 4-2, at the end of the first quarter, before both teams scored four goals in the second. The Cardinals got going quickly in the second half though, putting up four of the first five goals in the third quarter, which ended 14-8, and then out-scoring the Buckeyes 8-2 in the fourth.
Still, freshman Kampbell Stone had her first career hat trick to lead the Buckeyes, and Jamie Lasda, who had a stellar week across both games, recorded a career-best 11 draw controls. This ties her for fifth-most in a single game in program history. Lasda leads the Buckeyes this season.
Kate Tyack also had two goals, her fifth career multiple-goal outing.
Saturday’s game against Northwestern (12-2, 4-1) brought a similar outcome, with the Buckeyes falling, 19-10. The Wildcats built an early lead to finish the first quarter up, 8-2. That woke the Buckeyes up.
The Buckeyes went on to outscore Northwestern, 7-5, in the second and third quarters, heading into the fourth down, 13-9. They couldn’t get the job done, scoring just one goal in the fourth, while the Wildcats put up six.
Emily Magalotti, Leah Sax, Zoe Coleman, and Lasda each scored twice. Lasda’s performance brought her season tally to a team-best and career-best 37 goals, the first of which was her 100th career goal. Tyack, for her part, has tallied more than three points in each of the last four games and is on a six-game goal streak.
Regan Alexander, the senior goalie, recorded 12 saves. Alexander was named a finalist for the 2024 Big Ten Medal of Honor, which is awarded to one male and one female student-athlete for excellence on and off the field, this past Monday.
Next up, the women will host Rutgers this coming Thursday. It will mark the regular-season home finale and OSU’s Senior Day.
The men’s team (6-7, 1-3) lost a heartbreaker in overtime at home against No. 5 Johns Hopkins, 11-10. It was their fourth matchup in five weeks against a top-10 team.
It was a hard-fought game, with the Buckeyes leaving everything on the field in the matchup, after starting strong and jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. It marked just the third time this season Johns Hopkins was held scoreless in the first quarter.
OSU led by as many as five goals throughout the game, and led 7-4 at half and 9-6 at the end of the third, but the Jayhawks found their stride at the end of the third, going on a five-goal run that went into the fourth to give them the lead for the first time in the game, 10-9.
The OSU defense wasn’t giving up that easily, forcing three turnovers, and Alex Marinier tied the game up for the Buckeyes to force overtime. It marked his third hat trick of the season.
Overtime was an even match, with the Jayhawks claiming victory with only 24 seconds remaining in extra time. It was the Buckeyes’ first overtime game this season.
Freshman goalie Caleb Fyock had 11 saves, his fifth-straight game with double-digit saves.
Next, the men will close the regular season at home when they host Michigan this Saturday, April 20.
Track & Field
The Ohio State Track & Field team split time this weekend at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational and Bryan Clay Invitational this past Friday and Saturday, posting some memorable performances throughout the weekend.
Most notably, Daniella Santos and Andrea Kuhn moved into the top five in program history in the 5000m on Friday, with times that place them third and fifth in OSU history, respectively. Santos finished with a time of 15:56.71, while Kuhn posted a time of 15:57.72.
Other Buckeyes to place at the Bryan Clay Invite included Columba Effiong, who finished third in the women’s 200m with a PR of 23.82, and DJ Fillmore, whose long jump of 7.47m / 24’6.25” made him the runner-up.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes swept the shot put competition at Tom Jones, with Lacey Stringer moving into third on OSU’s all-time leaders list with a mark of 17.21m / 56’5.75”. Adam Riedinger posted a season-best throw of 17.53m / 57’6.25” on his way to victory on the men’s side.
The Buckeyes also placed well in other events throughout the day. Faith Bender placed third in discus with a season-best 56.91m / 186’8”, while Tanner Watson was the men’s runner-up with a throw of 54.45m / 178’7”. Sophie Fong and Morgan Fijalkowski finished second and fourth, respectively, in the pole vault. Amaya Ugarte cleared 1.84m / 6’0.5” in the high jump to finish in third.
Up next, the Buckeyes will host the Jesse Owens Classic this coming Friday and Saturday.
Rowing
The No. 12 Ohio State women’s rowing team had the weekend off. They’re busy preparing for their trip to Sarasota, Florida, for the Big Ten Invite, this coming Friday, April 19.
Men’s Volleyball
The No. 3-seed Buckeyes’ men’s volleyball team (20-8) advanced in the MIVA Tournament after defeating No. 6-seed Lewis (15-15) last Saturday in Columbus in the tournament quarterfinals, 3-1.
Ohio State posted scores of 26-24, 25-27, 25-21, 25-20 over the Flyers, dropping only the second set in the match. Shane Wetzel and Jacob Pasteur combined for 33 kills, while Cole Young recorded his 100th career block in the matchup.
S4| And that's a Buckeye W! pic.twitter.com/xs6KVYaIAV
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioStateMVB) April 13, 2024
Now, the Buckeyes move on to face No. 2-seed Loyola Chicago in the tournament semifinal this Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. The match, along with the rest of the tournament matches from here on out, will take place at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. The Buckeyes lost both their previous matchups with the Ramblers, 2-3, this season.
Tennis
The No. 16 Ohio State women’s tennis team (15-6, 8-1) defeated Iowa, 4-1, in Iowa City Friday night, followed by a 4-1 victory on the road at Nebraska on Sunday to close out its regular season road schedule.
Buckeyes have been named Ohio State Scholar-Athletes! Congrats to this year’s honorees #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/sxyxmRHbvc
— Ohio State Women’s Tennis (@OhioStateWTEN) April 16, 2024
Friday’s win came with four straight-set singles wins from Luciana Perry, Sydni Ratliff, Shelly Bereznyak, and Audrey Spencer, with Iowa claiming only the doubles point (though the duo of Ratliff and Spencer did win their doubles match).
In Lincoln, the Buckeyes extended their win streak to eight matches, taking the doubles point on victories from the duos of Irina Cantos Siemers and Akanksha Bhan, along with that of Alessia Cau and Madeline Atway. Siemers, Ratliff, and Spencer also posted singles victories.
Up next, the women return home to end the regular season with matches Friday against Northwestern and Sunday against Illinois (the Buckeyes’ Senior Day).
How sweep it is!! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/YN7NUyP50S
— Ohio State M Tennis (@OhioStateMTEN) April 14, 2024
The No. 1 Ohio State men’s tennis team keeps on rolling, after defeating both Big Ten schools from that state up north this weekend. They remain atop the Big Ten standings as the lone undefeated team in the conference, improving to 25-1 on the season.
The weekend began with a 6-1 home victory over No. 18 Michigan State, who entered the match also undefeated in conference play. Robert Cash, Cannon Kingsley, and JJ Tracy all won in both singles and doubles.
The Buckeyes first clinched the doubles’ point, thanks to victories from Cash and Bryce Nakashima, along with Kingsley and Tracy. OSU then won the first four singles matches, with singles wins coming from the aforementioned players, as well as Jack Anthrop and Alexander Bernard.
On Sunday, OSU took down rival Michigan, sweeping them, 4-0. While the doubles point was a rollercoaster requiring the tiebreaker, victories from the duos of Kingsley/Anthrop and Cash/Tracy clinched the point for the Buckeyes.
In singles play, Anthrop, Tracy, and Bernard all posted victories to seal the results.
The Buckeyes hit the road this weekend to take on Nebraska Friday and Wisconsin Sunday. They need just one win to clinch a share of the Big Ten title—it would be their 18th consecutive conference title if they’re able to stay on track.
Siemers and Cash, it is worth noting, are both also Big Ten Medal of Honor Finalists.
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