Olympic Sports Recap: Men’s Tennis Defeats No. 1 Virginia, Women’s Ice Hockey Splits With No. 1 Wisconsin, Men’s Volleyball Dominates Central State
No. 2 Men’s Tennis Extends Win Streak To Seven, Downs No. 1 Wake Forest
For the third consecutive match, No. 2 Ohio State (7-0) has defeated a top-five opponent with a 5-2 victory over No. 1 Virginia (6-1) Saturday at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center.
Ohio State’s No. 8 Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima opened the match with a sweep of Virginia’s Andrés Santamarta Roig and Keegan Rice, 6-0, to make the Buckeyes halfway to a doubles point.
Top-ranked Buckeyes Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin (OSU) then defeated the Cavaliers’ 23rd-ranked Måns Dahlberg and Jangjun Kim, 6-3, to secure the doubles point and give Ohio State an early 1-0 advantage.
In singles, Alexander Bernard earned the first point for Ohio State, making quick work of Virginia’s Måns Dahlberg, 6-1, 6-3. On court six, the Buckeyes’ Loren Byers (OSU) defeated Cavaliers’ Stiles Brockett 6-1, 7-6 (5), to grow Ohio State’s lead to 3-0.
Though Virginia wouldn’t make it easy on the Buckeyes as Andrés Santamarta Roig edged Ohio State’s 24th-ranked Jack Anthrop, 6-4, 6-4, to cut the advantage to 2.
However, Ohio State’s No. 22 Preston Stearns claimed a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 15 Keegan Rice to officially seal the Buckeyes victory at 4-1.
Nakashima then narrowly escaped Virginia’s No. 81 Jangjun Kim 6-4, 7-6(0) before the Buckeyes’ No. 13 Aidan Kim took the Cavaliers’ No. 2 Dylan Dietrich to three sets, but ultimately faltered, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4, securing Ohio State’s 5-2 match victory.
The Buckeyes win over the Cavaliers marked the first time since 2000 that Ohio State has taken down back-to-back No. 1-ranked opponents. Ohio State defeated previously top-ranked Wake Forest on Feb. 1.
Ohio State will return to the court Feb. 13-16 for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in the Styslinger / Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas.
No. 2 Women’s Ice Hockey Splits Weekend With No. 1 Wisconsin
In rematches of the last three NCAA finals, No. 2 Ohio State (26-4-0, 20-4-0 Western Collegiate Athletic Association) defeated No. 1 Wisconsin (25-3-2, 19-3-2 WCHA) 4-1 on Saturday, before the Badgers returned the favor to oust the Buckeyes 4-1 on Sunday.
Ohio State jumped ahead early on Saturday as sophomore forward Jordyn Petrie scored at 5:40 of the first period after capitalizing on a Wisconsin turnover. The Buckeyes then extended their lead to two late in the period when senior forward Sloane Matthews netted a power-play goal with 32 seconds remaining in the first frame.
Both teams were scoreless in the second period, though Wisconsin outshot Ohio State 17-7.
Ohio State maintained its momentum with two third-period goals, first on a deflection just under three minutes by freshman forward Maxine Cimoroni off a shot from senior defender Brooke Disher, followed by a rebound goal at 14:16 from freshman forward Kassidy Carmichael. Wisconsin junior defender Ava Murphy scored once late after the Badgers pulled their goalie, but Ohio State held strong late for the 4-1 victory.
Ohio State senior goaltender Hailey MacLeod saved 30 of 31 shots faced. The Buckeyes were also 4-for-4 on penalty kills.
The victory was Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall’s 250th career win, bringing her all-time record to 250-84-22 in her 10 seasons as the Buckeyes’ head coach.
It was a change of fortune for Ohio State in the latter game of the weekend as the four different goalscorers helped Wisconsin take down the Buckeyes 4-1.
Wisconsin sophomore forward Eden Lacy kicked off the game for the Badgers with an unassisted goal 16:17 into the first period before junior forward Cassie Hall extended the lead to two with a goal just a minute into the second period.
Ohio State junior forward Kaia Malachino gave the Buckeyes life with a score off assists from junior forward Jocelyn Amos and sophomore defender Maria Roth midway through the second frame. However, two power-play goals within the span of 40 seconds in the third period sealed Wisconsin’s 4-1 victory over the Buckeyes.
Wisconsin outshot Ohio State 30-21 in the win, with MacLeod saving a game-high 26 shots.
Ohio State will return to Columbus on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. to take on No. 3 Minnesota (24-5-1, 18-5-1 WCHA) at the OSU Ice Rink.
No. 12 Men’s Volleyball Earns Season Sweep Against Central State With 3-0 Victory
No. 12 Ohio State (6-3, 1-0 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) with a victory over Central State (2-7) in straight sets (25-18, 25-20, 25-17) on Sunday at the Covelli Center to complete the season sweep over the Marauders.
After a back-and-forth start to the first set, Ohio State and Central State found themselves tied at 13. However, a 9-3 Buckeye run quickly turned the tide in Ohio State’s favor, pushing the advantage to six at 22-16. A service ace from Ohio State sophomore setter Daniel Henwood Rodriguez and a kill by Central State junior outside hitter Jaedyn Harris cut the Buckeyes’ lead back to four. Harris totaled a match-high 11 kills. Two Ohio State kills and a service ace from senior outside hitter Jack O’Riordan clinched set one for the Buckeyes, 25-18.
In set two, Ohio State redshirt sophomore opposite hitter Tyler Tharpe opened with a kill off an assist from Henwood Rodriguez and the Buckeyes never trailed. After Central State tied the set at 5-5, a 5-1 Ohio State run helped secure another comfortable set win. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Ian Nolte secured the final three kills for the Buckeyes, pushing Ohio State to the brink of victory with a two-set lead.
The Buckeyes dominated the third set from the start, jumping out to a 5-0 lead that they would never relinquish. Freshman middle blocker Brady Jones landed the final two kills to secure a 25-17 set three victory and complete the 3-0 sweep.
Jones led Ohio State with eight kills, followed by O’Riordan with seven, while Nolte and Tharpe each added six kills. Henwood Rodriguez recorded a match-high 29 assists, and sophomore libero Drew Hudson led the Buckeyes defensively with five digs.
Ohio State will hit the road for a pair of conference matchups against Queens University on Friday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Levine Center in Charlotte, N.C.