COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 6 Ohio State men’s tennis team posted a resounding 4-0 victory over one of their biggest Big Ten rivals in No. 23 Illinois. The No. 1 and No. 2 ranked doubles duos, Matej Vocel/Robert Cash and James Trotter/Justin Boulais, made their debut appearances together and both earned victories. This match also marked Cash’s season debut where he had a perfect singles performance, losing zero games in a 6-0, 6-0 straight-set victory.
This was the ninth win in the last ten matches against Illinois which also includes four 4-0 sweeps.
The Buckeyes (3-0) set the tone early and clinched the doubles point with Vocel and Cash’s 7-5 win on court one and Boulais and Trotter’s 7-6(3) win on court two.
In singles, the Buckeyes dominated and earned three straight-set victories to seal the 4-0 victory. Cash had a flawless 6-0, 6-0 victory over Nic Meister on court six. Vocel followed soon after with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over Hunter Heck on court two. JJ Tracy sealed the commanding Buckeye victory with the third straight-set win of the day in his convincing 6-2, 6-0 defeat of Lucas Horve on court four.
#6 Ohio State 4, #23 Illinois 0
Singles
1. #97 Olivier Stuart (ILL) vs. #21 Cannon Kingsley (OSU) 6-6 (11-11), unfinished
2. #5 Matej Vocel (OSU) def. Hunter Heck (ILL) 6-2, 6-1
3. #113 Alex Brown (ILL) vs. Jake Van Emburgh (OSU) 4-6, 4-3, unfinished
4. #14 JJ Tracy (OSU) def. Lucas Horve (ILL) 6-2, 6-0
5. Gabrielius Guzauskas (ILL) vs. #42 James Trotter (OSU) 3-6, 4-3, unfinished
6. #95 Robert Cash (OSU) def. Nic Meister (ILL) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
1. #1 Robert Cash/Matej Vocel (OSU) def. Hunter Heck/Lucas Horve (ILL) 7-5
2. #2 Justin Boulais/James Trotter (OSU) def. Alex Brown/Gabrielius Guzauskas (ILL) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Nic Meister/Olivier Stuart (ILL) vs. Cannon Kingsley/JJ Tracy (OSU) 5-6, unfinished
Match Notes:
Ohio State 3-0; National ranking #6
Illinois 0-1; National ranking #23
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (6,2,4)
#GoBucks
