Buckeyes Celebrate 2010 Season with Team Banquet – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s tennis team celebrated the 2010 season with its annual team banquet Wednesday evening. After advancing to their sixth NCAA quarterfinal this spring, the Buckeyes finished the season ranked fifth in the nation.
Senior co-captain Justin Kronauge and sophomore Chase Buchanan and were honored with co-Most Valuable Player honors.
A two-time All-American and the Farnsworth/ITA Senior Player of the Year, Kronauge concluded his historic Buckeye career in 2010 with a 36-4 overall record. The Centerville, Ohio, native owns multiple program records including most career singles wins (147), most career doubles wins (128) and most combined wins with 275 victories. Furthermore, Kronauge, a three-time unanimous All-Big Ten recipient, is just the third Buckeye to have at least 100 singles and 100 doubles wins. He also became just the sixth Ohio State men’s tennis player to reach 100 doubles wins.
The 2010 Big Ten Player of the Year and ITA Player to Watch, Buchanan earned the first of potentially many All-America honors (singles, doubles) earlier this week. Beginning the year ranked 103rd, Buchanan then received the No. 1 singles starting nod and climbed 97 spots to sixth in the nation at the conclusion of the season. Finishing the year 31-6, Buchanan, who hails from New Albany, Ohio, was 24-2 at No. 1 singles, 25-2 in dual play and 20-6 against nationally-ranked opponents. He also went a perfect 10-0 in regular-season conference action. He entered the postseason as the seventh seed in the NCAA Singles championship.
Becoming the first freshman in program history to earn All-America (doubles) honors, Dino Marcan was named Freshman of the Year. Hailing from Rijeka, Croatia, Marcan finished the season 22-10 in singles. However, where Marcan, an All-Big Ten honoree, really excelled was in doubles with Buchanan. The pair compiled a 21-4 record, which included a 20-3 mark in dual action and an appearance in the NCAA Doubles championship.
Junior Balazs Novak was the Coaches Award recipient. For the second-consecutive season Novak amassed more than 30 wins, having won 36 matches in 2009 and 37 in 2010. A native of Budapest, Hungary, Novak paired with Kronauge this season to produce an exceptional doubles campaign in which the duo recorded a 22-0 ledger, including a 9-0 mark in the conference.
Senior Mike O’Connell, who also held team captaincy, was presented with the Senior Honor after spending five seasons with the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes’ 2010 Sportsmanship Award nominee, O’Connell has been an instrumental leader for his teammates. He also has had a remarkable academic record as a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete, two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and five-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.
2010 Ohio State Team Awards
Most Valuable Players (co)
Justin Kronauge
Chase Buchanan
Freshman of the Year
Dino Marcan
Coaches Award
Balazs Novak
Senior Honor
Mike O’Connell
