Ohio State
Kentucky
No. 2 Buckeyes Beat No. 7 Kentucky for Second Time in Eight Days – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 25, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The second-ranked Ohio State men’s tennis team picked up its 13th victory of the season (13-1) after defeating No. 7 Kentucky (10-3) 4-0 Saturday at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Buckeyes have now been responsible for two of the Wildcats’ three losses after a hard fought 4-3 triumph during the quarterfinals of the 2012 ITA Men’s National Team Indoors Championship Feb. 18 in Charlottesville, Va.
Devin McCarthy earned the match-winning fourth point on court four with a 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 57 Alejandro Gomez. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native moves to 13-5 overall in only his second match at No. 4 singles this season.
Ohio State moves to 13-11 all-time vs. the Wildcats. Including both wins this season, the Buckeyes have been victorious in 10-consecutive matches vs. Kentucky dating back to the 2000-01 season.
In doubles, Peter Kobelt and Connor Smith remained undefeated in the spring after an 8-6 victory on court three against Tom Jomby and Anthony Rossi. Smith and Kobelt are 11-0 in the spring when teamed up in doubles, including a 7-0 mark on court three.
Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola, the top-ranked pair in the nation, won 8-5 on court one over Eric Quigley and Panav Jha. The Buckeye tandem moved to 17-2, including marks of 8-2 in the spring and 7-1 vs. nationally-ranked opponents. It was the second time in the last week Rola and Buchanan defeated Quigley and Jha. The Ohio State duo downed the Wildcat pair 8-5 Feb. 18 to win the first doubles match of the National Indoors quarterfinal.
Smith gave Ohio State a 2-0 lead after a 6-4, 6-0 victory on court six against Grant Roberts. The Tampa, Fla., native moves to 11-0 in dual singles action with the straight-set victory.
Rola, the nation’s 12th-ranked player, extended the Scarlet and Gray’s lead to 3-0 with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Alex Musialek, the 20th-ranked singles player in the country. The win avenged a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Musialek during the National Indoors quarterfinals. The Big Ten Athlete of the Week now stands at 17-3 overall, including an 8-1 mark at the No. 2 position. He moves to 8-2 against nationally-ranked opponents.
Moments later, McCarthy followed Rola’s victory with his ninth dual win of the season on court four for the win.
As the second-ranked team nationally, Ohio State is an outstanding 55-4. The match against Kentucky was the first time the Buckeyes have played as the No. 2 team. They had been ranked No. 3 up until the latest ITA team rankings were released Wednesday.
The Buckeyes are back in action Sunday afternoon when they welcome No. 17 North Carolina to the Varsity Tennis Center. The match will begin at 5 p.m.
Break Points:
- The Buckeyes move to 13-11 all-time vs. Kentucky, including two wins this season.
- Ohio State has now won 10 consecutive matches against the Wildcats.
- As the No. 2 ranked team nationally, Ohio State is 55-4.
- Ohio State moves to 45-56-1 all-time vs. the SEC. Under head coach Ty Tucker, the mark improves to 38-13.
- Against teams ranked No. 7 nationally, the Buckeyes move to 3-3 all-time.
- The Buckeyes have won all 13 doubles points this season.
- Ohio State currently holds a home win streak of 136 matches, the longest active streak in the nation.
- Ohio State has won 60 of its last 61 regular-season (non-tournament) road contests dating back to 2006.
- The Buckeyes have been victorious in 30 of their previous 32 matches.
- Since 2001, Ohio State is 258-37 when ranked in the ITA Top 25. That mark moves to 211-14 from the 2005-06 season onward.
- The Buckeyes have been ranked in the ITA Top 10 for 176 consecutive matches (beginning March 7, 2006).
- Ohio State has won 80 consecutive B1G conference matches.
Tennis Match Results
No. 2 Ohio State 4, No. 7 Kentucky 0
Feb 25, 2012 at Columbus, Ohio
(Varsity Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #16 Chase Buchanan (OSU) vs. #6 Eric Quigley (KEN) 7-6, 0-2, unfinished
2. #12 Blaz Rola (OSU) def. #20 Alex Musialek (KEN) 6-1, 6-4
3. Peter Kobelt (OSU) vs. #13 Anthony Rossi (KEN) 6-7, 2-3, unfinished
4. #65 Devin McCarthy (OSU) def. #57 Alejandro Gomez (KEN) 6-2, 6-4
5. Ille Van Engelen (OSU) vs. #79 Tom Jomby (KEN) 6-7, 3-3, unfinished
6. #107 Connor Smith (OSU) def. Grant Roberts (KEN) 6-4, 6-0
Doubles
1. #1 Chase Buchanan/Blaz Rola (OSU) def. #48 Eric Quigley/Panav Jha (KEN) 8-5
2. #27 Devin McCarthy/Ille Van Engelen (OSU) vs. Alex Musialek/Alejandro Gomez (KEN) 7-5, unfinished
3. Peter Kobelt/Connor Smith (OSU) def. Tom Jomby/Anthony Rossi (KEN) 8-6
Match Notes:
Kentucky 10-3; National ranking #7
Ohio State 13-1; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,2,4)
Official: Vince Solomon T-2:35 A-456
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