Ohio State
Pepperdine
No. 3 Buckeyes Improve to 7-0 with 4-1 Win vs. Pepperdine – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 4, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The third-ranked Ohio State men’s tennis team (7-0) remained unbeaten after defeating No. 12 Pepperdine 4-1 Friday night at the Varsity Indoor Tennis Center.
Devin McCarthy won a second set tiebreaker 7-6 to clinch the fourth point in the match. He beat Hugh Clarke 6-2, 7-6 for his seventh singles win of the year.
Ohio State moves to 6-1 all-time against Pepperdine, with all wins occurring under head coach Ty Tucker.
In doubles competition, McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen defeated Pepperdine’s Jenson Turner and Sebastian Fanselow 8-2 on court two to give the Buckeyes an advantage. The Buckeye tandem is 15-3 on the season. Shortly after, Peter Kobelt and Connor Smith beat David Sofaer and Clarke at No. 3 to claim the doubles point for the Scarlet and Gray and improved to 5-2 overall. Ohio State has won the doubles point in all seven matches this year.
Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola, the top-ranked doubles pair in the nation, were handed their first loss of the season, an 8-6 setback to Finn Tearney and Alex Llompart at No. 1.
Smith downed Sofaer 6-4, 6-1 on court six to enlarge Ohio State’s lead to 2-0. He moves to 10-2 on the season. Kobelt fell to No. 49 Mousheg Hovhannisyan 4-6, 3-6 at No. 3 to cut the Buckeye lead in half, 2-1.
Rola, the nation’s eighth-ranked player, defeated Tearney at No. 2 6-4, 6-1 to give the Buckeyes a 3-1 lead. The Ptuj, Slovenia, native is 11-2 this season. McCarthy claimed the match-winning fourth point shortly after in the second set tiebreaker.
With the win against the Waves, the Buckeyes have now won 135 consecutive matches in Columbus, dating back to the 2002-03 season. As the third-ranked team nationally, Ohio State is an outstanding 69-2.
The Buckeyes will make their first road trip of the season, traveling south to meet No. 30 Louisville at 4 p.m. Feb.9. It is the first of two road trips for Ohio State before heading to Charlottesville, Va., to compete with 15 other teams in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship Feb. 17-21.
Break Points:
- The Buckeyes move to 6-1 vs. Pepperdine, all six wins are under Coach Tucker.
- As the No. 3 ranked team nationally, Ohio State is 69-2.
- Ohio State has won 135 consecutive home matches, dating back to the 2002-03 season.
- The Buckeyes have been victorious in 24 of their previous 25 matches (the only loss occurred in the 2011 NCAA semifinals vs. No. 1 Virginia).
- Since 2001, Ohio State is 252-36 when ranked in the ITA Top 25. That mark improves to 205-13 from the 2005-06 season onward.
- The Buckeyes have been ranked in the ITA Top 10 for 169-consecutive matches (beginning March 7, 2006).
- Ohio State has won 79 consecutive Big Ten Conference matches.
Tennis Match Results
#3 Ohio State 4, #12 Pepperdine 1
Feb. 3, 2012 at Columbus, Ohio
(Varsity Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #28 Chase Buchanan (OSU) vs. #21 Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) 6-7, 5-3, unfinished
2. #8 Blaz Rola (OSU) def. #35 Finn Tearney (PEP) 6-4, 6-1
3. #49 Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) def. Peter Kobelt (OSU) 6-4, 6-3
4. #116 Ille Van Engelen (OSU) vs. Alex Llompart (PEP) 6-4, 6-6, unfinished
5. Devin McCarthy (OSU) def. #106 Hugh Clarke (PEP) 6-2, 7-6
6. #123 Connor Smith (OSU) def. David Sofaer (PEP) 6-4, 6-0
Doubles
1. Finn Tearney/Alex Llompart (PEP) def. #1 Chase Buchanan/Blaz Rola (OSU) 8-6
2. #15 Devin McCarthy/Ille Van Engelen (OSU) def. Jenson Turner/Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) 8-2
3. Connor Smith/Peter Kobelt (OSU) def. David Sofaer/Hugh Clarke (PEP) 8-4
Match Notes:
Pepperdine 3-1; National ranking #12
Ohio State 7-0; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,3,2,5)
Official: Vince Solomon T-2:45 A-330
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