No. 3 Ohio State’s season came to an end Thursday afternoon after a narrow 4-3 loss to No. 2 TCU in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
Ohio State dropped the doubles point after TCU claimed victories on courts two and three. The Horned Frogs’ No. 42 Albert Pedrico Kravtsov and Cooper Woestendick dominated the Buckeyes’ No. 44 Alexander Bernard and Alex Okonkwo (OSU) 6-0, before TCU’s Oliver Bonding and Maximus Dussault upset Ohio State’s No. 45 Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima 6-4 to claim the doubles point. Ohio State’s No. 8 Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin’s match with TCU’s No. 4 Duncan Chan and Cosme Rolland De Ravel on court one went unfinished, with the Buckeyes pair trailing 5-4.
The Horned Frogs extended their lead to 2-0 when Roger Pascual Ferra defeated Bernard, 6-2, 6-2 on court six.
The Buckeyes responded with two singles victories to even the match. Ohio State’s No. 31 Preston Stearns earned the Buckeyes’ first point with a 6-2, 7-5 win over No. 42 De Ravel on court two, before Nakashima followed with a tight 6-2, 7-6(6) straight-set victory over the Horned Frogs’ Pedrico Kravtsov on court five.
TCU regained the advantage after No. 55 Woestendick took down Ohio State’s No. 32 Jack Anthrop 6-3, 7-6(4), but the Buckeyes’ No. 95 Filin beat the Horned Frogs’ Bonding 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to tie the match at three-all. The victory marked Filin’s 20th consecutive singles win as he finished the dual season with a 25-1 singles record.
The deciding point came down to court one, where No. 11 Kim battled No. 8 Chan in a three-set thriller. Kim claimed the opening set 6-4, but Chan responded by taking the final two sets 6-4 and 6-3 to secure the win for TCU and end Ohio State’s tournament run.
Ohio State’s loss to TCU marked the third time in six years that the Buckeyes lost to the Horned Frogs in the NCAA tournament.
The Buckeyes finished the season 32-5 overall and reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the 18th time in program history.
Image courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
