Ohio State
#11 Illinois
Buckeyes Stay Unbeaten, Top No. 11 Illinois 4-1
3/6/2024 9:59:00 PM | Men's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the 15th time in the last 16 matches vs. Illinois, Ohio State has come out on top. The top-ranked Buckeyes beat No. 11 Illinois 4-1 Wednesday night in Champaign.
The Buckeyes remain undefeated on the season at 16-0 while Illinois fell to 7-3.
This was a non-conference match between the two teams. They will meet again later this month in Columbus in the scheduled Big Ten regular season match.
Senior Robert Cash has played well all season and he continued that on Wednesday. He got the doubles point started with a 6-1 win on court two and then provided the clinching singles point with 12th win this spring.
The Buckeyes played from in front as they won the doubles point with victories on courts two and three. Cash and Justin Boulais picked up their first victory together this season with an impressive 6-1 victory over the No. 57 team of Lucas Horve and Oliver Okonkwo on court two. After Illinois claimed the match on court one, Jack Anthrop and Alexander Bernard won five out of the last six games to win their match over Kenta Miyoshi and Mathis Debru 6-2.
Bernard remained unbeaten in the dual season, improving to 12-0 with a solid 7-5, 6-2 win on court six over Mathis Debru. Illinois got their lone point of the night with a win on court two, but Anthrop followed with his 7-6(6), 6-2 win over Okonkwo on court four to push the score to 3-1.
Cash’s clinching point was a 7-6(8), 6-3 win over William Mroz on court five. Cannon Kingsley had split his first two sets on court one with Hunter Heck while JJ Tracy won the set 6-4 and was on serve at 4-5 in the second with Miyoshi.
The Buckeyes will remain on the road and head to Texas for a pair of matches in the Lonestar State next week. They will play at No. 12 Texas on Sunday afternoon and then at No. 10 Texas A&M on Wednesday evening.
#1 Ohio State 4, #11 Illinois 1
Singles
1. #17 Cannon Kingsley (OSU) vs. #39 Hunter Heck (ILL) 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 unfinished
2. #30 Karlis Ozolins (ILL) def. #32 Justin Boulais (OSU) 7-6(2), 6-0
3. #7 JJ Tracy (OSU) vs. #55 Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) 6-4, 4-5 unfinished
4. #16 Jack Anthrop (OSU) def. Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) 7-6(6), 6-2
5. Robert Cash (OSU) def. William Mroz (ILL) 7-6(8), 6-3
6. #91 Alexander Bernard (OSU) def. Mathis Debru (ILL) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
1. #3 Karlis Ozolins/Hunter Heck (ILL) def. JJ Tracy/Cannon Kingsley (OSU) 6-2
2. Robert Cash/Justin Boulais (OSU) def. #57 Lucas Horve/Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) 6-1
3. Jack Anthrop/Alexander Bernard (OSU) def. Kenta Miyoshi/Mathis Debru (ILL) 6-2
Match Notes:
Ohio State 16-0; National ranking #1
Illinois 7-3; National ranking #11
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,2,4,5)
T: 2:17
#GoBucks
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
6,2,4,5
