Ohio State
#4 TCU
Buckeyes Fall 4-2 to No. 4 TCU in NCAA Semis
5/18/2024 7:06:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Ohio State finishes the season with a record of 34-2
STILLWATER, Okla. – For the second time this season, Ohio State and TCU played a tremendous tennis match. But this time, it was TCU’s turn to come out on top as the Horned Frogs won 4-2 on Saturday in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.
This was just the second loss of the season for the Buckeyes, who ended the year at 34-2.
Ohio State won the doubles point but TCU stole back momentum at the start of singles. The Buckeyes then pushed back and had their chances down the stretch, but TCU won a couple of crucial points and would come away with the narrow victory.
Fittingly between two of the best teams in the country, the doubles point was tight. The first break of the match came on court one as TCU broke Robert Cash and JJ Tracy at 1-0 but then the Buckeyes broke right back on love. That match remained on serve until TCU broke at 5-4 to win the match 6-4.
In the match on court two, Andrew Lutschaunig and Justin Boulais went up a break at 4-2 and held for a 6-3 victory. That was Boulais’s 99th career doubles victory.
The doubles point came down to court three with Jack Anthrop and Cannon Kingsley. Neither team was able to break, despite a couple of deuce point chances each way. In the tiebreaker, the Buckeyes ran out to a 5-1 lead at the change over after a great backhand winner from Anthrop. They then held for a 7-4 win and the Buckeyes had the doubles point.
TCU raced out in singles and was on the front foot. The Horned Frogs evened the match with a win on court five and then took the lead with a win on court one. Anthrop balled back after losing the second set to win his third set over No. 78 Lui Maxted 7-5 and even the score at 2-2.
The last three courts were all in a third set and in similar points in the matches. TCU won on court two to take a 3-2 lead. Robert Cash had a chance late on court six but just couldn’t finish-off Tomas Jirousek and the Horned Frog would win the third set 7-5 to clinch the match. JJ Tracy was leading his third set on court three and looked to be headed to victory when the match was clinched.
The match was the final team match for five tremendous seniors in Cash, Tracy, Boulais, Kingsley and Lutschaunig. They have been great leaders and have helped write another historic chapter in the Buckeye tennis legacy.
Ohio State won its 18th consecutive Big Ten title this season and then followed that with a Big Ten Tournament victory. That came after winning the program’s third ITA Indoor Team National Championship in February in New York with a 4-3 win over TCU. The Buckeyes then advanced to their eighth NCAA semifinal and won 30 or more matches for the 14th time in program history.
Five Buckeyes will remain in Stillwater next week to compete in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship. Tracy and Cash will compete in doubles while Tracy, Boulais, Kingsley and Anthrop will compete in singles. Action begins with the singles tournament on Monday morning and doubles will begin on Tuesday afternoon.
#4 TCU 4, #1 Ohio State 2
Singles
1. #13 Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. #34 Justin Boulais (OSU) 6-4, 7-5
2. #7 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #17 Cannon Kingsley (OSU) 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
3. #19 JJ Tracy (OSU) vs. #73 Pedro Vives (TCU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 4-3, unfinished
4. #30 Jack Anthrop (OSU) def. #78 Lui Maxted (TCU) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
5. #77 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. Alexander Bernard (OSU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) def. Robert Cash (OSU) 1-6, 6-2, 7-5
Doubles
1. #63 Jake Fearnley/Pedro Vives (TCU) def. #3 JJ Tracy/Robert Cash (OSU) 6-4
2. #49 Justin Boulais/Andrew Lutschaunig (OSU) def. Sebastian Gorzny/Jack Pinnington (TCU) 6-3
3. Cannon Kingsley/Jack Anthrop (OSU) def. Duncan Chan/Lui Maxted (TCU) 7-6 (7-4)
Match Notes:
TCU 27-4; National ranking #4
Ohio State 34-2; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,1,4,2,6)
NCAA Men's Tennis Championship Semifinal Match
T-3:41
#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:
5,1,4,2,6
