ITA Midwest Regional Recap

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Senior JJ Tracy beat teammate Alexander Bernard 6-4, 6-1 to win the ITA Midwest Regional Singles Championship on Tuesday at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center.

The final was moved to Columbus to avoid Tracy and Bernard from having to play three consecutive matches in a matter of hours in Ann Arbor on Monday.

The first set of the final was a battle as both Tracy and Bernard were swinging big. The senior was able to grab the upper hand and took the opening set 6-4. He rolled that momentum into the second and won the first five games of the set, taking the wind out of Bernard sails. He would go on to clinch the win 6-1.

Tracy becomes the 11^th Buckeye to win the ITA Midwest Regional title. In all, this was the 13^th Midwest Regional singles crown for Ohio State. Tracy and Bernard also teamed-up this weekend to finish runner-up in the doubles draw, earning a berth in next month's ITA Fall National Championship in San Diego in both singles and doubles.

The Buckeyes had a dominant weekend in Ann Arbor. They had five of the final eight in the singles draw and then all four semifinalists. In doubles, three teams made up the four semifinalists.

October 23, 2023
Monday morning opened with a pair of all Buckeye singles matches. Bryce Nakashima was taking on Alexand Bernard and JJ Tracy was facing Jack Anthrop. There was something poetic about four Buckeyes competing on the two show courts at Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center.

The two matches ended up being synonymous as Bernard beat Nakashima 6-2, 6-2 and Tracy beat Anthrop 7-5, 7-5. That sets up a meeting of No. 10 Bernard vs. No. 12 Tracy on Tuesday at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center.

Tracy and Bernard rested for roughly an hour before taking on the No. 6-ranked Illinois duo of Hunter Heck and Karlis Orzolins. The fresher legs prevailed as the Illini tandem won 6-1, 6-2 to take the title.

Despite the doubles finish, both Tracy and Bernard have earned a spot in next month's ITA Fall National Championships in San Diego in both singles and doubles.

October 22, 2023
Sunday featured an impressive performance from the Buckeyes. The morning began with the round of 16 singles matches, and all five Buckeyes won to advance to the quarterfinals. With three of the five wins over players from Illinois.

Again, in the singles quarterfinals, the Buckeyes battled to win and secure an all Ohio State final and semifinal. JJ Tracy defeated teammate Robert Cash in a close three set match, while Bernard and Anthrop won quickly in two set matches. As a result, on Monday, Bernard will play Nakashima, and Tracy will play Anthrop.

Three teams of Buckeyes played in the doubles semifinals. While Anthrop and Stearns fell to the Illinois team of Ozolins and Heck, Bernard and Tracy advanced to the finals after defeating teammates Nakashima and Cash 7-5, 6-4. They will have a chance to defeat the No. 1-seeded team in the finals on Monday.

Preston Stearns also capped his weekend with a singles consultation win on Sunday, besting Illinois' Mathis Debru in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

October 21, 2023
Saturday started with the quarterfinal doubles matches, and just like Friday, all three Buckeye teams were victorious. And all three wins were against teams from Michigan. JJ Tracy and Alexander Bernard beat Michigan State's Ozan Baris and Max Sheldon 8-6 while Robert Cash and Bryce Nakashima topped Michigan's Gavin Young and Nino Ehrenschneider 8-5 and Jack Anthrop and Preston Stearns also beat Wolverines Jacob Bickersteth and Will Cooksey 8-6.

That set up a doubles semifinal match between Cash and Nakashima and Tracy and Bernard on Sunday morning.

The singles main draw started on Saturday afternoon. Nakashima, Cash, Anthrop, Tracy and Bernard all won a pair of matches and advanced to the round of 16. Cash lost just four games in his two matches, winning 6-4, 6-0 in the opening round and 6-0, 6-0 in the second. Bernard lost the opening set in each of his matches but rebounded to win the next two sets. Preston Stearns dropped his first-round match in a three-set match with Northwestern's Presley Thieneman

Sunday will start with the round of 16 and wins by Cash and Tracy would setup a Buckeye vs. Buckeye match in the quarterfinals.

October 20, 2023
Friday was a full day of doubles matches with the first three rounds being contested. The Buckeyes had three teams entered and all three teams won all three of their matches.

JJ Tracy and Alexander Bernard rolled past Armin Koschtojan and Saul Berdullas of Northern Illinois 8-2 in the opening round. They also beat Western Michigan's Benjamin George and Anton Arzhankin by the same score in the second round and then topped Youngstown State's Clement Mainguy and Nathan Favier 8-4 in the round of 16.

Jack Anthrop and Preston Stearns won 8-4 over Rin Ostro and Emiliano Gonzalez of Illinois State, 8-5 over Aleksa Bucan and Randy Wilson of Illinois Chicago and then battled past Illinois's top team of Lucas Horve and Oliver Okonkwo 9-8(7).

Robert Cash and Bryce Nakashima had a first-round bye and then beat Wisconsin's Colin Beduhn and Matthew Fullerton 9-8(3) in the round of 32 and then blew past DePaul's Shourya Verma and Sven Moser 8-3 to reach the quarterfinals.

October 19, 2023
Reece Yakobov opened play for the weekend as he took on Matias Olivero of Toledo in the opening round of qualifying. Olivero played extremely well and would win the match 6-4, 6-3.

Singles

October 19, 2023
Q1   Matias Olivero (Toledo) def. Reece Yakubov (Ohio State) 6-4, 6-3

October 21, 2023
64 #10 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. Laureniu Mandocescu (DePaul) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
64 Presley Thieneman (Northwestern) def. Preston Stearns (Ohio State) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
64 Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) def. Nam Pham (Illinois State) 6-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
64 #71 Robert Cash (Ohio State) def. Mikael Erler (Cleveland State) 6-4, 6-0
64 #12 JJ Tracy (Ohio State) def. Collin Beduhn (Wisconsin) 6-0, 6-3
64 #81 Jack Anthrop (Ohio State) def. Arrastia Gaztambide (Northern Illinois) 6-1, 6-1
32 #10 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. Goli Saiprakash (Northwestern) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
32 Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) def. Benjamin George (Western Michigan) 6-3, 6-3
32 #71 Robert Cash (Ohio State) def. Christopher Norlin (Northern Illinois) 6-0, 6-0
32 #12 JJ Tracy (Ohio State) def. Yu Zhang (Notre Dame) 6-3, 6-2
32 #81 Jack Anthrop (Ohio State) def. Chad Miller (Northwestern) 6-4, 6-3

October 22, 2023
16 #81 Jack Anthrop (Ohio State) def. Jacob Bickersteth (Michigan) 6-1, 7-6 (7-1)
16 #10 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. William Mroz (Illinois) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
16 #71 Robert Cash (Ohio State) def. Jeremy Zhang (Illinois) 6-0, 6-1
16 Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) def. Grayson Lair (Michigan State) 6-3, 6-2
16 #12 JJ Tracy (Ohio State) def. Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) 6-1, 6-2
C Preston Stearns (Ohio State) def. Mathis Debru (Illinois) 6-4, 6-4
QF #81 Jack Anthrop (Ohio State) def. #80 Pawit Sornlaksup (Toledo) 6-2, 6-4
QF #10 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. Chase Thompson (Notre Dame) 6-2, 6-4
QF #12 JJ Tracy (Ohio State) def. #71 Robert Cash (Ohio State) 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
QF Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) def. Presley Thieneman (Northwestern) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5

October 23, 2023
SF #10 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) 6-2, 6-2
SF #12 JJ Tracy (Ohio State) def. #71 Jack Anthrop (Ohio State) 7-5, 7-5

October 24, 2023
F #12 JJ Tracy (Ohio State) def. #10 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) 6-4, 6-1

Doubles

October 20, 2023
64   JJ Tracy/Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. Armin Koschtojan/Saul Berdullas (Northern Illinois) 8-2
64   Jack Anthrop/Preston Stearns (Ohio State) def. Tin Ostro/Emiliano Gonzalez (Illinois State) 8-4
32   Robert Cash/Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) def. Collin Beduhn/Matthew Fullerton (Wisconsin) 9-8 (7-3)
32   JJ Tracy/Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. Benjamin George/Anton Arzhankin (Western Michigan) 8-2
32   Jack Anthrop/Preston Stearns (Ohio State) def. Aleksa Bucan/Randy Wilson (Illinois Chicago) 8-5
16   Jack Anthrop/Preston Stearns (Ohio State) def. Lucas Horve/Oliver Okonkwo (Illinois) 9-8 (9-7)
16   Robert Cash/Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) def. Shourya Verma/Sven Moser (DePaul) 8-3
16   JJ Tracy/Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. Clement Mainguy/Nathan Favier (Youngstown State) 8-4

October 21, 2023
QF   Jack Anthrop/Preston Stearns (Ohio State) def. Jacob Bickersteth/Will Cooksey (Michigan) 8-6
QF   JJ Tracy/Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. #2 Ozan Baris/Max Sheldon (Michigan State) 8-6
QF   Robert Cash/Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) def. #25 Gavin Young/Nino Ehrenschneider (Michigan) 8-5

October 22, 2023
SF #6 Karlis Ozolins/Hunter Heck (Illinois) def. Jack Anthrop/Preston Stearns (Ohio State) 6-3, 6-2
SF JJ Tracy/Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. Bryce Nakashima/Robert Cash (Ohio State) 7-5, 6-4

October 23, 2023
F #6 Hunter Heck/Karlis Ozolins (Illinois) def. Alexander Bernard/JJ Tracy (Ohio State) 6-1, 6-2

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