Ohio State
Vanderbilt
Diaz and Steinbach Power Buckeyes to NCAA Round of 16 – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 9, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Head Coach Ty Tucker couldn’t have asked for a better showing from his Buckeye men’s tennis team this weekend, as Ohio State swept both Buffalo and Vanderbilt 4-0 to advance to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 in Waco, Texas.
Coach Tucker kept his doubles lineup steady from Buffalo to Vanderbilt, as Chris Diaz and Ralf Steinbach teamed up on court three to take down Vanderbilt’s Baker Newman and Suresh Eswaran. This followed a Commodore win on court one, as the 5th-ranked pair of Gonzales Austin and Rhys Johnson downed Kevin Metka and Herkko Pollanen 8-1. The point then came down to Hunter Callahan and Mikael Torpegaard on court two facing the Commodore pair of Pen Binet and Ryan Smith. Torpegaard’s big serves along with Callahan’s net play earned the Buckeye duo an 8-5 victory and a point on the board for Ohio State.
Diaz and Steinbach continued their strong play into singles. Steinbach cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win on court six, while Diaz frustrated Rhys Johnson the entire match en route to a 6-1, 6-4 victory on court two, pushing the Buckeye lead to 3-0.
The deciding point then came from consensus fan favorite Metka on court five. Up 5-2 in the second set, Metka dropped three straight games to Baker Newman to even the match at 5-5. The two then traded serves to send the match to a tiebreaker, where Metka fought his way to an 8-6 win to take the match 6-2, 7-6 (8-6).
“This was a very good Vanderbilt team and we knew it was going to be a tough match,” said head coach Ty Tucker. “They’re really tough at one doubles and really good at one and three singles. I thought we needed to come out aggressive in the other matches and try to set the tone and our guys did that. The ran them pretty hard the last few days in practice to prepare them for the grind in this heat and they responded well.”
Torpegaard proved he can play with the best in the country, as he went game for game with No. 10 Gonzales Austin. Austin took the first set in a tiebreaker, and the match was stopped on serve at 5-4 when Ohio State clinched. Callahan fought back after losing the first set 6-4 to take the second set 6-2. Pollanen was saved by the clinch, as Danny Valent had him at match point when play was stopped.
Today’s win marks the 20th straight home NCAA Tournament victory for Ohio State, as the Buckeyes have hosted and advanced out of the first and second rounds each of the past ten years. The Buckeyes will move on to face the winner of Oklahoma State and Texas A&M in Waco, Texas on Thursday, May 14.
#11 Ohio State 4, #24 Vanderbilt 0
Singles competition
1. #55 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) vs. #10 Gonzales Austin (VIS) 6-7 (5-7), 4-5, unfinished
2. #50 Chris Diaz (OSU) def. Rhys Johnson (VIS) 6-1, 6-4
3. Herkko Pollanen (OSU) vs. #88 Danny Valent (VIS) 3-6, 3-5, unfinished
4. Hunter Callahan (OSU) vs. Kris Yee (VIS) 4-6, 6-2, unfinished
5. Kevin Metka (OSU) def. Baker Newman (VIS) 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)
6. #104 Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. Jeff Offerdahl (VIS) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #5 Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson (VIS) def. Kevin Metka/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 8-1
2. Hunter Callahan/Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. Pen Binet/Ryan Smith (VIS) 8-5
3. Chris Diaz/Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. Baker Newman/Suresh Eswaran (VIS) 8-4
Match Notes:
Vanderbilt 20-8; National ranking #24
Ohio State 27-8; National ranking #11
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,2,5)
Official: Jerri Banks T-2:06 A-192
