No. 3 Buckeyes Sweep Buffalo in NCAA Opening Round, Advance to 2nd Rnd. Saturday

Friday, May 1

Columbus, Ohio

2:45 p.m.

Ohio State

University at Buffalo

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

No. 3 Buckeyes Sweep Buffalo in NCAA Opening Round, Advance to 2nd Rnd. Saturday

5/1/2026 4:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

Ohio State will face-off against California Saturday at 4 p.m.

By: Mark Metz, Athletic Communications

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 3 Ohio State defeated Buffalo, 4-0, Friday at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes move on to play California Saturday at 4 p.m. with the winner of the match advancing to the Super Regional next weekend.

The Buckeyes improved to 30-4 on the season and 17-1 at home. It was Ohio State's 14th sweep at home in dual action and 15th time totaling 30 wins in a season.

Ohio State advances past the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the 22nd time in the past 26 years.

Doubles action saw wins on courts one and three. Jack Anthrop and Bryce Nakashima paired up for the fourth time this year and won 6-2 while Nikita Filin and Brandon Carpico won 6-2 on court one.

In singles competition, Anthrop, Loren Byers and Filin all earned victories on courts three, four and five to clinch the 4-0 sweep over Buffalo and advance the Buckeyes.

California advanced to the second round after downing Kentucky 4-3 in the first match of the day. Ohio State holds a 1-2 all-time record against the Golden Bears with the most previous match being in 2016 where California edged the Buckeyes, 4-3.

Ohio State honored seniors following their match with Buffalo. Jack Anthrop, Alexander Bernard and Loren Byers were all recognized for their performance and play for the Buckeyes.

Doubles

Ohio State quickly earned 4-1 leads on courts two and three to start doubles action.
Jack Anthrop and Bryce Nakashima teamed up for the fourth time this year and first time since the Buckeyes' match against Purdue on March 22. The pair was the first to earn a doubles win in a 6-2 match on court three, earning their third career win as a duo.
On court one, Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin defeated Buffalo 6-2 to clinch the doubles point for Ohio State and earn their 21st win of the dual season together.
Alexander Bernard and Alex Okonkwo were tied at 4-4 when the doubles point was clinched.

Singles

Jack Anthrop, Nikita Filin and Loren Byers all earned sweeps in their first sets and every Buckeye earned first-set victories.
Filin won 12-consecutive games to give him a 6-0, 6-0 match victory, putting Ohio State up 2-0 and giving him his 17th-consecutive singles win.
On court five, Byers was right behind Filin with a 6-0, 6-1 victory, giving the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead.
To sweep the Bulls, Anthrop earned a 6-0, 6-2 win on court three to advance the Buckeyes to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It was Anthrop's 116th career singles win for the Buckeyes, moving him into eighth place in Ohio State's program history.
Aidan Kim was down 4-1 in his first set before clawing his way back and earning a 7-2 tiebreaker win. The second set was starting when the match was clinched.
Preston Stearns got out to a quick 6-1 win in set one and was up 4-2 in the second set when the Buckeyes grabbed the victory.
On court six, Alexander Bernard won the first set, 6-2, and was leading the second set, 3-2, when Ohio State advanced to the second round of the tournament.