 "Photo: Kenny Greer")
"It came down to me," Moneke said. "I was a little bit nervous at the end. I knew it was going to be tight in the second set because he came back and gave everything. I had to fight for every point. It was close but I knew that I could play a little better and clinch it."
Moneke, an All-Big Ten selection, won both of his matches Saturday to lead a 4-1 victory against No. 25 Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
In a match that was tougher than the score indicates, the No. 2 Buckeyes (29-1, 13-0 Big Ten) used their depth and experience to take down the Volunteers (17-8) for the second time this season.
The win set the single-season record for OSU, overcoming last year's record-setting season of 28 wins.
Moneke helped as the Buckeyes won two of the three doubles matches, capturing the crucial doubles point.
"We lost just two doubles points all season," Moneke said. "We just have to win the doubles point down in Georgia and we can beat any team in the country."
Moneke and sophomore Bryan Koniecko sealed the point for OSU with their 8-4 win over Bo Hardegree and Davey Sandgren at No. 3 doubles.
Perhaps the best No. 3 doubles team in the nation, Moneke and Koniecko are 21-2 in that position this season.
Both squads then hit the court for singles competition, with OSU needing to split the six matches for a victory.
The Buckeyes jumped to a 2-0 lead after Justin Kronauge, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, defeated Tennessee's Kiril Tcherveniachki 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 4 singles spot.
Senior Devin Mullings put OSU up 3-0 and one point from victory after defeating Davey Sandgren 6-1, 6-2 in No. 3 singles.
"Once I put that point on the board really quick it took some pressure off of some of the guys higher in the lineup like Koniecko and Steven," Mullings said. "They have some really tough matches. It's important for me to win quickly to take the pressure off of them."
The relief was only temporary as things soon began to turn Tennessee's way. Junior Drew Eberly, senior Chris Klingemann and Koniecko all lost their first sets leaving most of the National Championship hopes in the hands of Moneke.
He looked to have things well in hand at No. 2 singles, winning his first set and leading his second 5-2. The wind picked up slightly, giving UT's Bobby Cameron a slight advantage.
Moneke's normal precision placement was slightly altered by the course of the wind. Shots that had fallen on the line 20 minutes before were landing just out of bounds.
Cameron rallied to tie Moneke at 5-5, leaving a crowd of about 200 shocked.
The conclusion of earlier matches left all of the fans focused directly on Moneke. With his teammates lined up against the fence providing encouragement.
As Cameron rallied, Tennessee's Kaden Hensel closed out Koniecko 7-6, 6-4 at No. 1 singles making the score 3-1 in OSU's favor.
Klingemann and Eberly rallied to tie their second sets in No. 5 and No. 6 singles, but both seemed to be losing steam. Only Bobby Cameron stood between the Buckeyes and a trip to Athens, Ga. for Thursday's round of 16 match.
With a 6-5 second set lead and ball in hand, Moneke was at a distinct advantage.
"We had two weeks off. A couple matches looked like we were out of it. It was going to come down to a 4-3 match with Moneke (being the swing match)," coach Ty Tucker said.
Moneke served his way to match point, leaving the crowd howling in approval. Cameron's ball went long, which made Moneke and the Buckeyes victorious.
Eberly and Klingemann both had their matches abandoned following Moneke's match-sealing win.
In earlier doubles play, Eberly and Kronauge began by defeating Adam Hubble and Ben Rogers 8-3 in No. 2 doubles.
"We haven't been hitting the ball that clean since the Big Ten championship," Tucker said.
A sea of scarlet and gray supporters helped their team win their 57th consecutive home match to continue their run at the National Championship.
OSU made it to the second round after a 4-0 victory against Columbia (16-5). Tennessee defeated Miami (11-13) in the first round.
The team heads to Athens, Ga. Tuesday to prepare for Thursday's round of 16 match against No. 15 LSU (18-6). The Buckeyes defeated LSU in Baton Rouge, La. by a score of 4-2 earlier this season.
Zack Timmons can be reached at timmons.60@osu.edu.
Be the first to comment on this article!