Buckeyes Defeat Minnesota 4-1 to Advance to NCAA Quarters

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.  – No. 3 seed Ohio State was able to pull off the rare feat, defeating a team three times in the same season as the Buckeyes took down Minnesota 4-1 in the round of 16 at the NCAA Championship in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Friday.

The Buckeyes jumped out quickly in all three doubles matches and set the tone early. Hunter Tubert and Matt Mendez posted the first win on court three with a 6-1 win over Stefan Milicevic and Marino Alpeza. Mikael Torpegaard and John McNally fell on court two 6-4 but that was a followed by a 6-4 win from Martin Joyce and JJ Wolf on court one to clinch the point for the Buckeyes.

Tubert also got the fun started in singles as he moved into the No. 6 spot and took down Eli Ogilvy 6-3, 6-4 for his fourth singles win this spring. Kyle Seelig won the opening set 6-3 over Josip Krstanovic but found himself down a break at 5-4 in the second. He won a crucial break point to get back on serve and then also won the next two games to make the score 3-0 Buckeyes with a 6-3, 7-5 win.

After Joyce fell in straight sets on court five, the clinching point fittingly came from the Buckeye senior on court one. Torpegaard fell to Felix Corwin in the semis of the Big Ten Tournament and on Friday, he found himself down a break late in the first set. He too rallied to force a tiebreak and would take the breaker 7-5. That took the wind out of Corwin’s sails as Torpegaard rolled to a 6-0 win in the second.

NOTES

• This was Ohio State’s 20^th-consecutive win this season and the Buckeyes improve to 32-2 overall
• Ohio State defeats Minnesota for the third time this season and for the 21^st-conseuctive time
• The Buckeyes won the doubles point for the 19^th-straight match
• Ohio State advances to the quarterfinals for the 13^th time in program history
• Hunter Tubert improves to 4-0 this spring in dual singles matches
• Kyle Seelig downed Josip Krstanovic for the third time this year
• Mikael Torpegaard avenged one of his seven singles losses as he defeated Felix Corwin today after falling to him in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament

NEXT UP

The Buckeyes will take on Mississippi State in the quarterfinals on Sunday at Noon. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the NCAA Tournament.

 #3 [3] OHIO STATE (32-2) def. #37 MINNESOTA (17-9), 4-1

Head Coaches: Ty Tucker (Ohio State) and Geoff Young (Minnesota)

Doubles               
1.            Martin Joyce/JJ Wolf (OHIO STATE) def. Felix Corwin/Josip Krstanovic (MINNESOTA) 6-4
2.            #61 Matic Spec/Jystyn Levin (MINNESOTA) def. Mikael Torpegaard/John McNally (OHIO STATE) 6-4
3.            Matt Mendez/Hunter Tubert (OHIO STATE) def. Stefan Milicevic/Marino Alpeza (MINNESOTA) 6-1

Singles 
1.            #6 Mikael Torpegaard (OHIO STATE) def. #53 Felix Corwin (MINNESOTA) 7-6(5), 6-0
2.            #41 JJ Wolf (OHIO STATE) vs. #85 Matic Spec (MINNESOTA) 4-6, 5-4, unf.
3.            #92 John McNalley (OHIO STATE) vs. #79 Stefan Milicevic (MINNESOTA) 6-2, 6-5, unf.
4              #96 Kyle Seelig (OHIO STATE) def. Josip Krstanovic (MINNESOTA) 6-3, 7-5
5.            Jackson Allen (MINNESOTA) def. #112 Martin Joyce (OHIO STATE) 6-3, 6-4
6.            Hunter Tubert (OHIO STATE) vs. Eli Ogilvy (MINNESOTA) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles: (3,2,1) Singles: (6,4,5,1)