Buckeyes Ready for NCAA Opening Round in Winston-Salem
5/6/2021 9:33:02 AM | Men's Tennis
Ohio State vs. VCU
Date: May 7, 2021
Time: 2 p.m.
Where: Wake Forest Tennis Center – Winston-Salem, N.C.
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Scoring: Follow
Bracket: Full Bracket
VIDEO: McNally and Seelig Preview Opening Round | Ohio State NCAA Tournament History
COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the first time since 2005, Ohio State heads out on the road for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament as the Buckeyes will take on VCU on Friday in Winston-Salem, N.C. The match is scheduled for 2 p.m. with host Wake Forest and South Carolina State playing at 5 p.m.
- Ohio State enters the tournament at 20-3 on the year and is coming off a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Tournament last weekend.
- This is the 21st time the Buckeyes have been selected for the NCAA Championship with every appearance coming under the direction of head coach Ty Tucker.
- The Buckeyes have an overall record of 56-20 with a pair of runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2018.
- Ohio State and VCU are meeting for the second time in the NCAA Tournament. The two teams also met in the opening round in 2001, which resulted in a 4-3 OSU victory in Knoxville, Tenn.
- VCU leads the all-time series with Ohio State 9-7 but the Buckeyes have won six of the eight meetings under Ty Tucker. The most recent meeting came in Columbus in the 2019 ITA Kickoff Weekend where the Buckeyes won 4-0.
- A potential second round matchup will be with either Wake Forest or SC State. The Buckeyes have won seven of the last eight meetings with Wake Forest since 1990. That includes an NCAA Tournament win in 2014 and three wins at the ITA Indoor Team Championship. The lone loss came in Winston-Salem in 2018 in the finals of the NCAA Championship.
- Ohio State has never met SC State on the tennis court.
- Five Buckeyes earned All-Big Ten honors this season as Cannon Kinglsey, John McNally and Kyle Seelig were named to the first team while James Trotter and JJ Tracy earned second team accolades.
- Kinglsey and McNally were selected to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship later this month.
- Kingsley was the coaches’ unanimous selection for Big Ten Player of the Year. He has been remarkable this year with a perfect singles record of 27-0. He has nine wins over ranked opponents.
- McNally is right there with Kingsley at 21-4 on the year. He has six wins vs. ranked foes and is also 17-5 in doubles matches.
- Tracy became the 10th Buckeye to be named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He is 24-3 on the season and had his 24-match win streak broken last weekend in the championship match vs. Illinois. He is also 13-3 in doubles matches this season.
#GoBuckeyes
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