Ohio State
Michigan
Buckeyes Back In The Win Column, Top Michigan 5-2 – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 20, 2015
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 11 Ohio State men’s tennis team came into Friday night’s match at rival Michigan off back-to-back losses and went behind early after losing the doubles point. But the Buckeyes battled back to win five of the six singles matches and took the match 5-2.
The win improves the Buckeyes to 14-6 on the season while the loss drops UM to 3-9.
Sophomore Herkko Pollanen won the first set in his singles match with Alex Knight in a tie-breaker and then traded breaks with Knight in the second set before outlasting him 6-4 for the clinching point.
Michigan came out of the gate with an 8-5 victory from Knight and Runhoa Hua at No. 2 doubles over Pollanen and Mikael Torpegaard. The Buckeyes pulled even with an 8-7 win from Hunter Callahan and Chris Diaz leaving the point in the hands of OSU’s top team of Kevin Metka and Ralf Steinbach. But the No. 3-ranked Buckeye duo lost for just the fourth time this spring and the Wolverines took the doubles point.
The Buckeyes regrouped and won four of the six first sets in singles to play to grab the momentum for good.
Torpegaard loves the surface inside the UM Varsity Tennis Center as he rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Alex Petrone at No. 1 singles. Torpegaard also won the ITA Midwest Singles championship at Michigan last fall.
Metka and Steinbach made quick work of their singles matches as well to give the Buckeyes a 3-1 lead. Metka topped Davis Crocker 6-2, 6-3 on court six and Steinbach claimed a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Lin on court five.
Michigan got within one on a 6-4, 6-4 win from Hua over Callahan but Pollanen pulled-out his 10th singles win of the year to secure the victory for the Bucks.
Diaz fell behind Michael Zhu and dropped the first set 6-4. He then rolled to a 6-2 victory in the second and another 6-2 victory in the third to provide the final margin.
The Buckeyes return home for a match for the first time since March 6 when they host Michigan State on Sunday at the Varsity Tennis Courts. The match is currently scheduled to be played outdoors.
#11 Ohio State 5, Michigan 2
Singles competition
1. #28 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. Alex Petrone (UM) 6-2, 6-1
2. #44 Chris Diaz (OSU) def. #120 Michael Zhu (UM) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
3. Runhao Hua (UM) def. Hunter Callahan (OSU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Alex Knight (UM) 7-6, 6-4
5. #68 Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. Carter Lin (UM) 6-0, 6-4
6. Kevin Metka (OSU) def. David Crocker (UM) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Alex Petrone/Michael Zhu (UM) def. #3 Kevin Metka/Ralf Steinbach (OSU) 8-6
2. Alex Knight/Runhao Hua (UM) def. Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 8-5
3. #34 Hunter Callahan/Chris Diaz (OSU) def. Carter Lin/Kevin Wong (UM) 8-7
Match Notes:
Ohio State 14-6; National ranking #11
Michigan 3-9
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,6,5,3,4,2)
