Ohio State
Mississippi State
No. 3 Buckeyes 3-0 After 6-1 Victory vs. No. 16 Mississippi State – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/22/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 22, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The third-ranked Ohio State men’s tennis team (3-0) handed No. 16 Mississippi State (3-1) its first loss of the season, beating the Bulldogs, 6-1, Sunday at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Blaz Rola, ranked eighth nationally, earned the Buckeyes’ match-clinching fourth point on court one after defeating James Chaudry, who is ranked 79th in the country 7-6, 6-4.
The match with the Bulldogs was only the second meeting between the two schools. The first contest occurred during the 1990-91 season and was the home opener for John Daly’s Buckeyes. Mississippi State left Columbus with a 7-2 win.
In doubles, Peter Kobelt and Connor Smith was the first Buckeye tandem to finish, defeating Chaudry and Zach White, 8-3, at No. 3.
Devin McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen competed on court two and after trailing for most of the match, broke a couple of serves by George Coupland and Artem Ilyushin to leave with an 8-6 victory.
Chase Buchanan and Rola, the top-ranked tandem nationally, concluded doubles action for the Scarlet and Gray with an 8-5 triumph vs. the Bulldog pair of Louis Cant and Malte Stropp, the country’s 12th-ranked duo.
In singles competition, Smith gave the Buckeyes a 2-0 advantage following a quick 6-2, 6-2 win vs. White on court six. Buchanan followed with a 6-1, 6-2 victory on court two vs. Ilyushin with Rola clinching the win shortly after.
Van Engelen (No. 116) downed Stropp (No. 90) 6-2, 6-2, while McCarthy came back to defeat Mississippi State’s highest-ranked player, Coupland, 0-6, 6-1, 6-4. Coupland was ranked 32nd nationally.
“It feels great to start 3-0 for the second straight year,” Van Engelen said, “It’s an honor to play for the Buckeyes. Now we have to prepare for next weekend.”
Kobelt played a tough match, but eventually fell in a tiebreaker 4-6, 7-5, 8-10 to No. 45 Cant.
The Buckeyes will continue spring action Jan. 28-29 when they are one of 15 schools hosting the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Ohio State, the No. 1 seed, will meet No. 45 Cornell, the fourth seed, in the first match at 10 a.m. Jan 28. No. 2 seed Indiana will meet No. 3 Notre Dame following the Buckeyes and Big Red match at approximately 2 p.m. The consolation match will take place at 10 a.m. Sunday, with the two winners meeting at 1 p.m. for the championship. All matches will be held at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Break Points:
· The Buckeyes are now 2-0 vs. Mississippi State and 43-56-1 vs. the SEC (36-13 under Tucker).
· Against teams that are ranked No. 16, Ohio State is now 3-0.
· As the No. 3 ranked team nationally, Ohio State is 65-2.
· Ohio State has won 131 consecutive home matches, dating back to the 2002-03 season.
· The Buckeyes have been victorious in 20 of their previous 21 matches (the only loss occurred in the 2011 NCAA semifinals vs. No. 1 Virginia).
· Since 2001, Ohio State is 248-36 when ranked in the ITA Top 25. That mark improves to 201-13 from the 2005-06 season onward.
· The Buckeyes have been ranked in the ITA Top 10 for 165-consecutive matches (beginning March 7, 2006).
· Ohio State has won 79 consecutive Big Ten Conference matches.
Tennis Match Results
No.3 Ohio State 6, No.16 Mississippi State 1
Jan. 22, 2012 – Columbus, Ohio
(Varsity Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #8 Blaz Rola (OSU) def. #79 James Chaudry (MISSST) 7-6, 6-4
2. #28 Chase Buchanan (OSU) def. Artem Ilyushin (MISSST) 6-1, 6-2
3. #45 Louis Cant (MISSST) def. Peter Kobelt (OSU) 6-4, 5-7, 10-8
4. #116 Ille Van Engelen (OSU) def. #90 Malte Stropp (MISSST) 6-2, 6-2
5. Devin McCarthy (OSU) def. #32 George Coupland (MISSST) 0-6, 6-1, 6-4
6. #123 Connor Smith (OSU) def. Zach White (MISSST) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
1. #1 Chase Buchanan/Blaz Rola (OSU) def. #12 Louis Cant/Malte Stropp (MISSST) 8-5
2. Devin McCarthy/Ille Van Engelen (OSU) def. George Coupland/Artem Ilyushin (MISSST) 8-6
3. Peter Kobelt/Connor Smith (OSU) def. James Chaudry/Zach White (MISSST) 8-3
Match Notes:
Mississippi State 3-1; National ranking #16
Ohio State 3-0; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,1,2,4,5,3)
Official: Vince Solomon A-275
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