Ohio State Men’s Tennis 2001-02 Season Review – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
June 11, 2002
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COLUMBUS, Ohio— Ohio State finished the 2001-02 season 21-5 overall and 10-2 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes ended the season ranked No. 21 in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Most of the season Ohio State had three players ranked in the top 100, Phil Metz, Jeremy Wurtzman and Adrian Bohane.
“I thought we did a great job for most of the season but missing two of our best players for the NCAA tournament was too hard to overcome though it was great to see sophomore Brenton Contini contribute through the whole season,” Ty Tucker, OSU head coach, said.
Highest Ranking In History
The Buckeyes reached No. 12 March 20 in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings, this was highest ranking in the history of the program. In 2000-01 OSU reached No. 16.
“We had a very young and talented team in 2001-02 and were able to achieve the highest ranking in program history,” Tucker, said.
First Undefeated Home Season
The Buckeyes were undefeated at home during the 2001-02 regular-season, a first in program history. The victory over Purdue (4/14/02) was OSU’s 15th-consecutive home win, breaking the all-time record of 14-consecutive home wins set in the 1982-83 season. Buckeye Winning Streak
OSU earned its 17th-consecutive victory this season against Northwestern (April 20), setting an all-time record. OSU beat the team record of 16-consecutive wins, achieved in 2000-01.
OSU In The NCAA Tourney
The Buckeyes made their third-consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament this season, the only appearances in OSU history, under the direction of head coach Tucker. Ohio State is 2-3 all-time in the tournament. The 1999-00 team defeated Boise State, 4-3, in the first round and lost to Texas, 4-1, in the second round. The 2000-01 Buckeyes defeated Virginia Commonwealth, 4-3, in the first round and lost in the second round to Tennessee, 4-1.
Individuals in NCAA
Phil Metz (Jr., Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) and Jeremy Wurtzman (So., Rochester, N.Y./Brickhouse Academy (Fla.) were both selected to play this year in the 2002 NCAA Singles Championships. This is the first time the Buckeyes have had two singles players in the NCAA singles tournament since four Buckeyes (Ivan Botica, Jim Flower, Francisco Gonzalez and Pedro Gonzalez) participated in the 1976 tournament. A total of 15 Buckeyes (nine different individuals) have qualified for the NCAA singles tournament in the history of the program.
Buckeyes In Big Ten Play
The Buckeyes finished second in the Big Ten Conference regular-season, 9-1 in the Big Ten. Ohio State kicked off the Big Ten season with a victory against Wisconsin, 6-1. OSU’s losses were against Illinois April 21 in Champaign, Ill. and Minnesota April 27 at the Big Ten Tournament.
“We took a tough beating for the Big Ten Championship in Illinois and after that we struggled to be at full strength for the rest of the season,” Tucker said.
Tucker has lead the Buckeyes to a 28-9 record in the Big Ten in his three years at the helm. Tucker also led the team to the Big Ten tournament championship in 2001. OSU’s all-time record against opponents in the Big Ten is 265-351-2.
2002 Big Ten Tournament
The Ohio State University played host to the 2002 Big Ten Men’s Tennis Tournament April 25-28 at the Stickney Tennis Center and Jesse Owens West Recreation Center. Ohio State entered the 2002 tournament as the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Buckeyes defeated Wisconsin, 4-3, in the quarterfinals April 26 but fell in the semifinals April 27 to Minnesota, 4-3. Minnesota lost to Illinois in the championship match April 28.
Ng Reached Milestone
Vince Ng (Jr., Broadview Heights, Ohio/University School) reached his 40th victory this year May 11, surpassing his 2000-01 record of 33-11. Ng defeated Vanderbilt’s Josh Tarkoff (1-6, 6-1, 7-5) in the opening round of the 2002 Men’s Tennis NCAA Regional to reach 40 wins this season. Ng finished 40-8 overall and 10-2 in the Big Ten. Ng is 22-3 in duals this season.
Metz Ranked No. 45
Metz made his second-consecutive appearance to the NCAA singles tournament. Metz was the first Buckeye to play in back-to-back NCAA singles tournaments since Tucker did in 1990-91. Metz (21-11 overall, 9-3 Big Ten) ended the season ranked No. 45. He was 9-6 against nationally-ranked opponents with defeats over then No. 16 Mario Toledo and No. 17 Romain Ambert.
Sophomore Sensation
Wurtzman, OSU’s top rated player at No. 31, made his first appearance in the NCAA tournament. Wurtzman finished 32-15 overall and 19-6 in duals. Wurtzman upset Minnesota’s No. 3 Harsh Mankad (6-4, 6-1) on April 27 at the Big Ten Championships.
Doubles Team Ranked No. 60
The doubles team of Adrian Bohane (So., West Palm Beach, Fla./Palm Beach Lakes) and Paul Warkentin (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) finished at No. 60 in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Bohane and Warkentin were 13-10 overall this season. The duo entered the rankings after defeating Illinois’ No. 4 doubles team of Amer Delic and Michael Calkins, 8-4, in Champaign, Ill.
Tucker Closes Out Third Year
Tucker finished his third season as the head coach of the Buckeye tennis program. In 2002, Tucker led the team to an undefeated home season, reached the highest national ranking in history and set an all-time record of 17-consecutive wins. Tucker also led the Buckeyes to their third-consecutive NCAA appearance. Tucker served as an assistant under John Daly for two years (1997-99) in which the Buckeyes went without a win in conference play. Since taking the reigns at OSU, Tucker’s squads have gone 60-20 overall with a 28-9 mark in the Big Ten.
Coach Achieved Milestone
The victory over Wisconsin April 26 at the Big Ten Championships marked the 60th career victory for Tucker. Tucker’s career record is currently 60-20 in his third season.
Metz and Ng Movong Up In Wins
Ng moved into the top career singles wins chart this season. Ng currently has 91 career wins, last season he ended with 38 wins. Metz currently has 85 career wins in singles. Last season, Metz ended with 64 wins.
Career Singles Wins Player Year Wins 1. Roger Smith 1983-86 126 2. Mike Massie 1983-86 113 3. Ernie Fernandez 1979-82 109 4. Chris Porter 1997-01 106 5. Kevin Dibelius 1987-90 91 Vince Ng 1999-02 91 7. Chris Gatt 1986-89 89 8. Doug Bloom 1993-96 87 9. Phil Metz 2000-02 85 10. Stephen Miguel 1987-90 84 11. Richard Berry 1984-87 82 12. Sam Sebastin 1991-93 78 13. Gabor Koves 1990-93 77 14. Lior Rusinek 1980-83 76 15. Mark Wurtzman 1994-97 68 16. Jason Homorody 1993-96 67 17. Andrew Carlson 1996-01 66 18. Ben Basil 1996-99 65 Ted Glavas 1986-89 65 Jeff Sparr 1982-85 65 21. Ty Tucker 1989-91 64 Scott Weisman 1985-88 64
Three Players Climbing Charts
Ng, Wurtzman, and Warkentin are climbing the season singles wins chart this season. Ng moved up in the season singles wins chart. Currently, he is second with 40 wins. Last season Ng moved to sixth with 33 wins. Wurtzman was recently added in the season singles wins list and is tied at seventh with 32 wins. Last season, Wurtzman won 24 as a freshman at Florida. As a freshman, Warkentin moved into the season singles wins chart tied at 16th with 27.
Season Singles Wins Player Year Wins 1. Roger Smith 1986 45 2. Vince Ng 2002 40 3. Mike Massie 1986 39 4. Phil Metz 2001 37 5. Chris Porter 2000 36 6. Gabor Koves 1991 34 7. Vince Ng 2001 33 8. Ernie Fernandez 1982 32 Jeremy Wurtzman 2002 32 9. Chris Porter 2001 31 Roger Smith 1985 31 Chris Gatt 1988 31 12. Ernie Fernandez 1981 30 Ernie Fernandez 1980 30 Kevin Dibelius 1990 30 15. Ty Tucker 1990 28 16. Doug Bloom 1996 27 Richard Berry 1986 27 Paul Warkentin 2002 27 19. Roger Smith 1984 26 20. Several Tied 25
Metz Entered Career Doubles Chart
Metz recently entered the career doubles chart tied at 20th with 45 wins this season. Last season Metz ended with 29 victories.
