No. 6 Ohio State Wins ITA Kickoff Title 4-0 Over Purdue

Saturday, January 24

Columbus, Ohio

4 p.m.

Ohio State

Purdue University

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

No. 6 Ohio State Wins ITA Kickoff Title 4-0 Over Purdue

1/24/2026 6:57:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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Buckeyes move to 35-1 in event history

By: Mark Metz, Ohio State Athletics Communications

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 6 Ohio State earned the 2026 ITA Kickoff Weekend championship Saturday with a 4-0 win over Purdue at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center.

The Buckeyes improved to 35-1 in the event, now in its 18th year. Ohio State advances to the 2026 National Men's Team Indoor Championships Feb. 13-15 in Waco, Texas. The Buckeyes have advanced to the national indoor championships 17 times.

Ohio State rolled to the doubles victory and only dropped one set in singles before coming on top. Aidan Kim led the Buckeyes, grabbing a singles and doubles win.

Doubles

The Buckeyes raced to victory in doubles, finishing in 22 minutes.
No. 3 Bryce Nakashima and Aidan Kim won 6-0 on court three. A few seconds later, No. 5 Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin beat Purdue's Mujtaba Ali-Kahn and Maj Premzl 6-1 on court two.

Singles

In singles, all six Buckeyes won their first sets.
Loren Byers grabbed the first singles point for the Buckeyes in a dominating 6-1, 6-2 victory against Mujtaba Ali-Kahn.
Alexander Bernard swept his first set 6-0, before battling for a hard-earned 6-4 set two win. The victory marked Bernard's first singles win of the season and the third point for the Buckeyes.
To clinch, No. 5 Aidan Kim defeated No. 76 Nour Fathalla 6-3, 6-3 for his first singles win of 2026, advancing the Buckeyes to the National Men's Team Indoor Championship.

Up Next
The Buckeyes are hosting two Top 10 opponents next weekend at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. On Friday night, the No. 4 Texas Longhorns will travel to Columbus before No. 1 Wake Forest visits Sunday (2 p.m.).

#6 Ohio State 4, Purdue 0
Singles
1. #5 Aidan Kim (OSU) def. #76 Nour Fathalla (PUR) 6-3, 6-3
2. #22 Jack Anthrop (OSU) vs. Juan David Velasquez (PUR) 6-2, 2-3, unfinished
3. #48 Alex Okonkwo (OSU) vs. Maj Premzl(PUR) 6-2, 3-2, unfinished
4. Alexander Bernard (OSU) def. Nikola Jovic (PUR) 6-0, 6-4
5. #42 Nikita Filin (OSU) def. Jacob Lee (PUR) 6-1, 3-6, 0-0, unfinished
6. Loren Byers (OSU) def. Mujtaba Ali-Kahn (PUR) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
1. #10 Alexander Bernard/Alex Okonkwo (OSU) vs. Nour Fathalla/Nikola Jovic (PUR) 4-2, unfinished
2. #5 Brandon Carpico/Nikita Filin (OSU) def. Mujtaba Ali-Kahn/Maj Premzl (PUR) 6-1
3. #3 Aidan Kim/Bryce Nakashima (OSU) def. Jacob Lee/Juan David Velasquez (PUR) 6-0
Match Notes:
Purdue 2-2
Ohio State 4-0; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,4,1)
Official: Julio Colon T-1:35 A-348

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