Ohio State Outlasts SMU, Wins National Indoor Opener, 4-3

Friday, February 13

Dallas, Texas

1 p.m.

Ohio State

Southern Methodist University

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

Ohio State Outlasts SMU, Wins National Indoor Opener, 4-3

2/13/2026 5:08:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

Top seed Ohio State takes on No. 4 Stanford Saturday in Dallas

By: Mark Metz, Ohio State Athletics Communications

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 2 Ohio State defeated SMU in a tight 4-3 match Friday in the first round of the ITA Indoor Team National Championship. The match was play in Dallas at Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex at SMU.

The Buckeyes are set to face Stanford at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The match against the Mustangs lasted more than three hours with Ohio State prevailing.

The Buckeyes won the crucial doubles point and took a 3-0 lead over the Mustangs early in singles.

SMU battled back to tie it at 3-all before Jack Anthrop finished the Mustangs off in a third set match point tiebreaker to advance Ohio State to the second quarterfinals.

Ohio State improved to 8-0 overall on the season after capturing their first all-time victory over SMU, who led the all-time series at 3-0
.
The Buckeyes are 2-3 all-time against Stanford

Doubles

Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin extended their undefeated dual record in doubles to five consecutive wins after a 6-3 victory over the Mustangs. All five wins have been on court two.
Both matches on court one and three went to the end with both entering a tiebreaker.
On court one, Alexander Bernard and Alex Okonkwo battled to a 6-6 draw, but were unable to win the tiebreaker as SMU knotted the score at 1-1.
Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima were down 2-4 on court three before clawing back to tie it up at 5-5. Despite multiple game points, the Buckeye pair battled and clinched the doubles point in a tight 7-5 tiebreaker and 7-6 match victory.

Singles

On court six, Nikita Filin followed the doubles win with a quick 6-1 first set win. The second set lasted a bit longer, but Filin grabbed a 6-4 win to snag the first singles point for the Buckeyes.
Bryce Nakashima wasn't far behind Filin, winning his first set 6-4 and second set 6-2 against the Mustangs' Krish Arora.
With the Buckeyes up 3-0, SMU battled back on court one and five. The No. 1 SMU singles player Trevor Svajda defeated No. 13 Aidan Kim in two sets and Loren Byers dropped his first singles dual of the season after a tiebreaker loss in the second set.
The last two matches stretched to third sets. On court two, Preston Stearns dropped the first set in a 6-7(3) tiebreaker before winning the second set 6-3. The third set remained close, but Stearns fell to the Mustangs 4-6, tying the match at 3-3.
Jack Anthrop went up quick against SMU's Georgi Georgiev in a 6-3 first set win before dropping the second set 4-6. In a crucial 5-5 game point, Anthrop aced Georgiev to go up 6-5. In a match point tiebreaker, Anthrop won five-consecutive points to beat SMU 4-3 and advance Ohio State to the quarterfinals.

No. 2 Ohio State 4, SMU 1
Singles
1. #1 Trevor Svajda (SMU) def. #13 Aidan Kim (OSU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Alex Finkelstein (SMU) def. #22 Preston Stearns (OSU) 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4
3. #24 Jack Anthrop (OSU) def. Georgi Georgiev (SMU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(1)
4. Bryce Nakashima (OSU) def. Krish Arora (SMU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Jerry Barton (SMU) def. Loren Byers (OSU) 6-2, 7-6(5)
6. #98 Nikita Filin (OSU) def. Noah McDonald (SMU) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles
1. Alex Finkelstein/Trevor Svajda (SMU) def. #7 Alexander Bernard/Alex Okonkwo (OSU) 7-6(2)
2. #1 Brandon Carpico/Nikita Filin (OSU) def. Georgi Georgiev/Vikas Deo (SMU) 6-3
3. #8 Aidan Kim/Bryce Nakashima (OSU) def. Jerry Barton/Krish Arora (SMU) 7-6(5)

Match Notes:
SMU 4-4
Ohio State 8-0; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,4,1,5,2,3)
Official: Anthony Montero T-3:24

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