Ohio State
Louisville
No. 3 Buckeyes Win First Road Match at Louisville 6-1 – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 9, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The third-ranked Ohio State men’s tennis team (8-0) remained unbeaten after defeating No. 35 (4-4) Louisville 6-1 in its first road match of the year Thursday at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Buckeyes move to 10-1 all-time vs. the Cardinals, including a 6-0 mark under head coach Ty Tucker.
Devin McCarthy downed Chris Simich 6-4, 7-6 at No. 5 to claim the decisive fourth point in the Buckeye’s first non-conference road contest. McCarthy moves to 8-4 on the season in singles action.
The Buckeye victory snapped a 31-match home winning streak for the Cardinals at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center dating back to a 4-3 victory over Notre Dame on April 11, 2009. Louisville entered the contest 2-0 at home this season.
In doubles, the Buckeye duo Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola, the nation’s top-ranked tandem, easily beat Robert Hall and Seb Stiefelmeyer 8-0 to give Ohio State the advantage. Shortly after, the Buckeyes grabbed the doubles point after Connor Smith and Peter Kobelt won 8-3 on court three vs. Amaury Derognat and Michael Lippens. Smith and Kobelt have now started the dual season with a 6-0 mark in doubles.
McCarthyand Ille Van Engelen lost for the first time this season, falling 8-3 to Andrew Carter and Albert Wagner at No. 2 after the doubles point was already claimed.
In singles competition, Smith was the first Buckeye done for the second consecutive match, defeating Hall 6-2, 6-1 on court six. Smith moves to 11-2 with the victory. Soon after Buchanan, ranked 28th nationally, gave Ohio State a 3-0 advantage after a dominating 6-1, 6-0 win on court one vs. Carter for his tenth triumph on the year. McCarthy would follow with a second-set tiebreaker win to claim the fourth point.
Rounding out singles play, Rola, the eighth-ranked player nationally, downed Stiefelmeyer 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 for his 12th singles win on the season. Van Engelen came back after falling in the first set to beat Wagner 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. Lippens downed Buckeye Nelson Vick in three sets 6-1, 5-7, 7-6, after winning a third-set tiebreaker to give Louisville its only point of the match.
Ohio State moves to 10-1 all-time against Louisville, including a 6-0 mark under Coach Tucker.
As the third-ranked team nationally, Ohio State is an outstanding 70-2.
The Buckeyes will travel to East Lansing, Mich., Sunday for its first Big Ten match of the season before heading to Charlottesville, Va., to compete with 15 other teams in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Feb. 17-21.
Break Points:
- The Buckeyes move to 10-1 vs. Louisville, including 6-0 under Coach Tucker.
- As the No. 3 ranked team nationally, Ohio State is 70-2.
- Ohio State has won 58 of its last 59 regular-season (non-tournament) road contests dating back to 2006.
- The Buckeyes have been victorious in 25 of their previous 26 matches (the only loss occurred in the 2011 NCAA semifinals vs. No. 1 Virginia).
- Since 2001, Ohio State is 253-36 when ranked in the ITA Top 25. That mark improves to 206-13 from the 2005-06 season onward.
- The Buckeyes have been ranked in the ITA Top 10 for 170-consecutive matches (beginning March 7, 2006).
- Ohio State has won 79 consecutive B1G conference matches.
No. 3 Ohio State (8-0), 6 vs. No. 35 Louisville, 1 (4-4)
Feb. 9, 2012
Louisville, Ky.
Bass Rudd Tennis Center
Singles
1. No. 28 Chase Buchanan (Ohio State) def. No. 113 Andrew Carter (Louisville) 6-1, 6-0
2. No. 8 Blaz Rola (Ohio State) def. Seb Stiefelmeyer (Louisville) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
3. Michael Lippens (Louisville) def. Nelson Vick (Ohio State), 6-1, 5-7, 7-6
4. Ille Van Engelen (Ohio State) def. Albert Wagner (Louisville) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6
5. No. 116 Devin McCarthy (Ohio State) def. Chris Simich (Louisville) 6-4, 7-6
6. Connor Smith (Ohio State) def. Robert Hall (Louisville) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
1. No. 1 Blaz Rola/Chase Buchanan (Ohio State) def. Robert Hall/Seb Stiefelmeyer (Louisville) 8-0
2. Andre w Carter/Albert Wagner (Louisville) def. No. 15 Ille Van Engelen/Devin McCarthy (Ohio State) 8-5
3. Connor Smith (Ohio State) def. Amaury Derognat/Michael Lippens (Louisville) 8-3
Order of Finish: Singles (6, 1, 5, 2, 4, 3); Doubles (1, 3, 2)
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