Ohio State
Tulsa
No. 5 Ohio State Advances To ITA Indoor Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 25, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the seventh-straight season, the Ohio State men’s tennis team won the ITA Kickoff Weekend title, this time downing No. 41 Tulsa 4-1 in the championship match on Sunday afternoon at the OSU Varsity Tennis Center.
The Buckeyes advance to the ITA Indoor Team Championships which are being hosted by Illinois in Chicago on Feb. 13-16. Ohio State is the defending champion as it won its first ITA Indoor championship last year.
The Buckeyes jumped on Tulsa early by winning the doubles point with a pair of 6-1 victories. The No. 4-ranked team of Ralf Steinbach and Kevin Metka rolled to their 13th victory of the season while Mikael Torpegaard and Herkko Pollanen claimed their fourth victory of the year.
The singles matches didn’t start out as easy as Tulsa’s Matthew Kirby claimed a straight-set victory over Pollanen at No. 4 singles to even the match at 1-1. But Metka dispatched of Carlos Bautista 6-1, 6-3 at No. 6 and Hunter Callahan won his match at No. 5 6-2, 7-5 to put the Buckeyes on the brink.
Steinbach finished-off the win as he beat Dylan McCloskey 6-2, 7-6 at No. 3 singles. Torpegaard won the first set in his match that wasn’t completed.
The Buckeyes also hosted Toledo in a non-conference match Sunday evening and came away with a 4-0 victory.
Steinbach and Metka along with Chris Diaz and Hunter Callahan each picked-up doubles victories to claim the doubles point and then Steinbach and Metka capped their perfect days with 6-0, 6-0 victories in singles play.
Torpegaard downed Mark Singnil 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles to finish the match.
The wins improved the Buckeyes to a perfect 7-0 on the season and it also ran their NCAA-record home win-streak to 198-straight matches.
Head coach Ty Tucker, who is in his 16th season at helm of the Buckeye program, came into the season tied with John Daly for most wins in program history. The undefeated start has given Tucker 435 career victories which breaks Daly’s old mark of 428.
The Buckeyes will return to action this Thursday, Jan. 29, when it hosts No. 19 Kentucky. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m. at the OSU Varsity Tennis Center. Last year, Ohio State defeated Kentucky 4-0 in Columbus but then lost 4-1 in Lexington.
#5 Ohio State 4, #41 Tulsa 1
Singles competition
1. #21 Chris Diaz (OSU) vs. Or Ram-Harel (TULSA) 6-7, 1-1, unfinished
2. #89 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) vs. Alejandro Espejo (TULSA) 6-3, 4-5, unfinished
3. #66 Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. Dylan McCloskey (TULSA) 6-2, 7-6
4. Matthew Kirby (TULSA) def. Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Hunter Callahan (OSU) def. Mitchell Pritchard (TULSA) 6-2, 7-5
6. Kevin Metka (OSU) def. Carlos Bautista (TULSA) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #4 Ralf Steinbach/Kevin Metka (OSU) def. Dylan McCloskey/Or Ram-Harel (TULSA) 6-1
2. #27 Hunter Callahan/Chris Diaz (OSU) vs. Alejandro Espejo/Carlos Bautista (TULSA) 4-3, unfinished
3. Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Matthew Kirby/Mitchell Pritchard (TULSA) 6-1
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (4,6,5,3)
Official: Marcus Lee T-1:57 A-228
#5 Ohio State 4, Toledo 0
Singles competition
1. #21 Chris Diaz (OSU) vs. Stjepan Sisko (TOL) 6-6, unfinished
2. #89 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. Mark Singnil (TOL) 6-2, 6-1
3. #66 Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. Nicky Wong (TOL) 6-0, 6-0
4. Kevin Metka (OSU) def. Omar Espinosa (TOL) 6-0, 6-0
5. Matt Mendez (OSU) vs. Garrett Cona (TOL) 6-2, 2-1, unfinished
6. Riley Reist (OSU) vs. Stephen Miller (TOL) 6-0, 3-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #4 Ralf Steinbach/Kevin Metka (OSU) def. Garrett Cona/Stjepan Sisko (TOL) 6-3
2. Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) vs. Mark Singnil/Nicky Wong (TOL) 5-1, unfinished
3. #27 Chris Diaz/Hunter Callahan (OSU) def. Omar Espinosa/Roberto Meza (TOL) 6-1
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,4,2)
Official: Marcus Lee A-103
