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No. 3 Buckeyes Fall to No. 1 USC 4-3 in Championship Final – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 21, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The third-ranked Ohio State men’s tennis team lost to No. 1 USC 4-3 in the championship match of the 2012 ITA National Team Indoor Championship Monday. It was the Buckeyes’ first loss of the season (12-1). The prestigious event was held at Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va. Ohio State will return to action this weekend, hosting No. 6 Kentucky at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Varsity Tennis Center. The match vs. the Wildcats will take place exactly one week from the teams’ matchup this past Saturday in the ITA Team Indoor Championship quarterfinal. The following day, Sunday, Feb. 26, the Buckeyes will host No. 17 North Carolina at 5 p.m. in the VTC.
With Ohio State and Virginia tied 3-3, all eyes turned to court No. 5 where Buckeye Devin McCarthy, the 65th-ranked player nationally, was battling No. 36 Yannick Hanfmann for the team title. McCarthy won the first set 6-3 before losing the next two 6-3, 6-4.
Ohio State won its 13th doubles point in as many matches for the year. Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola, the top-ranked duo nationally, beat Steve Johnson and Hanfmann, the 28th-ranked tandem in the country, on court one 8-5.
Peter Kobelt and Connor Smith downed Emilio Gomez and Roberto Quiroz 9-8, winning the tiebreaker by a 7-4 score. It was their second doubles tiebreaker win in as many days on court three.
The Trojans took a 2-1 lead after No. 14 Daniel Nguyen defeated Kobelt on court three 6-1, 6-2 and Gomez beat Ille Van Engelen 6-3, 6-4 on court four.
Smith would even it at 2-2 after he won his sixth match of the tournament, beating Eric Johnson 6-3, 7-6.
Johnson, ranked 11th nationally, would put USC back in the lead with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Buchanan at the No. 1 position, while Rola would even the match once again with a convincing 7-5, 6-3 win over No. 18 Ray Sarmiento.
Hanfmann would defeat McCarthy a little while after to win it for the Trojans.
As the third-ranked team nationally, Ohio State is 74-3.
With the loss, the Buckeyes are 15-11 all-time in the tournament. This season is Ohio State’s 12th-consecutive participating in the event. Ohio State was the runner-up in 2007 and 2008 and advanced to the semifinals the previous two seasons. In 2009, the Scarlet and Gray played its way into the quarterfinals.
Break Points:
- The Buckeyes move to 1-5 all-time vs. USC.
- As the No. 3 ranked team nationally, Ohio State is 74-3.
- Ohio State has won 59 of its last 60 regular-season (non-tournament) road contests dating back to 2006.
- The Buckeyes have been victorious in 29 of their previous 31 matches (the only loss occurred in the 2011 NCAA semifinals vs. No. 1 Virginia).
- Since 2001, Ohio State is 257-37 when ranked in the ITA Top 25. That mark moves to 210-14 from the 2005-06 season onward.
- The Buckeyes have been ranked in the ITA Top 10 for 175 consecutive matches (beginning March 7, 2006).
- Ohio State has won 80 consecutive Big Ten Conference matches.
ITA National Team Indoor Championship – Final
No. 1 USC 4, No. 3 Ohio State, 3
Feb. 20, 2012
Charlottesville, Va.
Doubles
1. No. 1 Chase Buchanan/Blaz Rola (OSU) def. No. 28 Steve Johnson/Yannick Hanfmann (USC) 8-5
2. No. 27 Devin McCarthy/Ille Van Engelen (OSU) vs. Daniel Nguyen/Ray Sarmiento (USC) 7-6, dnf.
3. Peter Kobelt/Connor Smith (OSU) def. Emilio Gomez/Roberto Quiroz 9-8
Order of Finish: 1,3
Singles
1. No. 11 Steve Johnson (USC) def. No. 16 Chase Buchanan (OSU) 6-3, 6-4
2. No. 12 Blaz Rola (OSU) def. No. 18 Ray Sarmiento (USC) 7-5, 6-3
3. No. 14 Daniel Nguyen (USC) def. Peter Kobelt (OSU) 6-1, 6-2
4. No. 47 Emilio Gomez (USC) def. No. 99 Ille Van Engelen (OSU) 6-3, 6-4
5. No. 36 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) def. No. 65 Devin McCarthy (OSU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. No. 107 Connor Smith (OSU) def. Eric Johnson (USC) 6-3, 7-6
Order of Finish: 3,4,6,1,2,5
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