No. 19 Men’s Tennis Sweeps Indiana State, Youngstown State – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 14, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 19 Ohio State men’s tennis team shut out Indiana State and Youngstown State Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio. With the wins, the Buckeyes improved to 17-3 overall and 5-1 in Big Ten play and claimed their ninth shutout this season. Ty Tucker, Ohio State head coach, secured his 99th win in five years at the helm of the Buckeye program. Tucker would reach the century mark after a win over Northwestern Friday in Columbus.
In the match against Indiana State, Ohio State dominated on all three courts in doubles and carried its momentum into the singles portion. The Sycamores gave the Buckeyes some trouble on the Nos. 4 and 5 courts, though freshman Devin Mullings (Fr., Freeport, Bahamas/Ft. Lauderdale Prepatory) and sophomore Dennis Mertens (So., Braaschaat, Belgium/Koninkiljk) were able to secure their victories. With the loss, Indiana State fell to 6-15 on the season and is 5-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
After the Buckeyes played the Sycamores outdoors at Stickney Tennis Center, the team moved indoors to Jesse Owens West Recreation Center for the evening contest against Youngstown State. Ohio State gained a quick 1-0 advantage after they swept the Penguins in doubles action. Senior co-captain Brenton Contini (Sr., Dover, Ohio/Dover) picked up his 73rd career doubles win in four years as a Buckeye. Contini’s 73 victories places him tied at the No. 5 position in program history with former Buckeyes Richard Berry (1984-87) and Chris Porter (1997-2001).
Sophomore Ross Wilson (So., Toledo, Ohio/Toledo St. Francis de Sales) clinched the match win for Ohio State after straight 6-0 sets over Youngstown State’s Brian Meek. After the Buckeyes secured the win, the Nos. 2 and 6 singles courts agreed to play 8-game pro-sets where OSU’s Mullings and Scott Green (So., North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) shut out their opponents, 8-0, respectively.
Next up, the Buckeyes return to action as they play host to conference foes Northwestern at 4 p.m. Friday and Wisconsin at noon Sunday. The match against the Badgers will mark the home finale for Ohio State.
No. 19 Ohio State – 7, Indiana State – 0
Singles- 1. No. 1 Jeremy Wurtzman (OSU) def. Andrey Kumantsov (ISU) 6-1, 6-2 2. Joey Atas (OSU) def. Ivan d’Argence Arceo (ISU) 6-1, 6-0 3. Chris Klingemann (OSU) def. R.J. Nagel (ISU) 6-4, 6-2 4. Devin Mullings (OSU) def. Boyd Michau (ISU) 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 5. Dennis Mertens (OSU) def. Aaron Phillips (ISU) 7-5, 6-4 6. Scott Green (OSU) def. Jonathan Atkins (ISU) 6-1, 6-2 Order of finish: 2, 6, 1, 3, 5, 4
Doubles- 1. Brenton Contini/Wurtzman (OSU) def. d’Argence Arceo/Phillips (ISU) 8-2 2. Ross Wilson/Green (OSU) def. Kumantsov/Nagel (ISU) 8-4 3. Atas//Mertens (OSU) def. Atkins/Michau (ISU) 8-0 Order of finish: 3, 1, 2,
No. 19 Ohio State – 7, Youngstown State – 0
Singles- 1. No. 1 Jeremy Wurtzman (OSU) def. Raul Pepino (YSU) 6-1, 6-0 2. Devin Mullings (OSU) def. Kevin Schaffert (YSU) 8-0 3. Chris Klingemann (OSU) def. Tom Barth (YSU) 6-1, 6-1 4. Ross Wilson (OSU) def. Brian Meek (YSU) 6-0, 6-0 5. Dennis Mertens (OSU) def. Jason Trapp (YSU) 6-2, 6-1 6. Scott Green (OSU) def. Justin Beck (YSU) 8-0 Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 2
Doubles- 1. Green/Wilson (OSU) def. Pepino/Schaffert (YSU) 7-5 (default/injury) 2. No. 56 Joey Atas/Wurtzman (OSU) def. Meek/Trapp (YSU) 8-2 3. Brenton Contini/Klingemann (OSU) def. Barth/Beck (YSU) 8-1 Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
