Ohio State
Kentucky
Buckeyes Take Down Wildcats, Improve to 8-0 – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 29, 2015
January 29, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Buckeye men’s tennis team faced Kentucky for the 31st time, and came away with a perfect 4-0 victory inside the ever-so-friendly confines of the Varsity Tennis Center. Tonight’s win boosts the Buckeyes’ record to 8-0 on the season, and 18-13 all-time against the Wildcats, avenging last season’s 4-1 loss in Lexington.
The Buckeyes came out swinging in doubles play, as the number 4-ranked doubles tandem of Kevin Metka and Ralf Steinbach downed Beck Pennington and Kevin Lai on court one in dominating fashion, winning 6-3. Freshman Mikael Torpegaard teamed up with sophomore Herkko Pollanen on court three to pull out a tiebreaker victory 7-6 (7-5) to secure the doubles point for the Buckeyes.
Singles play proved to be more of the same, as senior Hunter Callahan blanked his opponent for the third time this season, winning 6-0, 6-0 on court five. Metka soon followed with a dominant win of his own, defeating Nils Ellefsen 6-1, 6-2 to give the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead.
As the crowd was fixed on the tough battles on courts one, two, and three, Pollanen stole the victory on court four to give the Buckeyes the victory, winning 6-1, 6-4 against Trey Yates. Junior Chris Diaz stormed back on court two, taking the second set 6-1 after dropping the first 3-6. Torpegaard was in a battle of his own on court one, taking the first set 6-4. Steinbach showed his toughness on court three, coming back from down 5-3 to win the first set in a back-and-forth tiebreaker 7-6 (10-8).
Ohio State needs one more win to reach the milestone of 200 straight home victories. They will get their chance on February 8th when 21st ranked South Florida comes into Columbus. The match is scheduled to start at noon.
#5 Ohio State 4, #27 Kentucky 0
Singles competition
1. #89 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) vs. #92 Beck Pennington (KENT) 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
2. #21 Chris Diaz (OSU) vs. Jerry Lopez (KENT) 3-6, 6-1, unfinished
3. #66 Ralf Steinbach (OSU) vs. Will Bushamuka (KENT) 7-6 (10-8), 2-2, unfinished
4. Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Trey Yates (KENT) 6-1, 6-4
5. Hunter Callahan (OSU) def. Kevin Lai (KENT) 6-0, 6-0
6. Kevin Metka (OSU) def. Nils Ellefsen (KENT) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #4 Kevin Metka/Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. Beck Pennington/Kevin Lai (KENT) 6-3
2. #27 Chris Diaz/Hunter Callahan (OSU) vs. Jerry Lopez/Will Bushamuka (KENT) 5-6, unfinished
3. Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Nils Ellefsen/Trey Yates (KENT) 7-6 (7-5)
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (5,6,4)
T: 2:00, Att: 123
