Four members of the Ohio State men’s tennis team could not make it past the NCAA Singles and Doubles championships quarterfinals this past week.
Competing for the Buckeyes at Stanford’s Taube Tennis Center were senior Matt Allare, junior Chase Buchanan, redshirt freshman Peter Kobelt and freshman Blaz Rola. Allare, Buchanan and Rola all competed in both the singles and doubles tournaments, while Kobelt competed solely in doubles.
The tournament began with singles action on Wednesday following the conclusion of the team championships on Tuesday.
Rola, the No. 5 seed in the tournament and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Player to Watch, was the only Buckeye to advance past the first round of singles. In his first match, Rola beat Stanford’s Ryan Thacher 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the second where he beat Pepperdine’s Finn Tearney 7-5, 6-2.
Rola advanced to the third round where he defeated Michigan’s Evan King 6-3, 6-0 before falling in the quarterfinals 6-3, 6-3 to Southern California’s No. 1-seeded Steve Johnson.
“It’s my first time at NCAAs. I’m pretty excited about it,” Rola said after the second round of the NCAA team championship. “There is a lot more at stake here.”
Both Allare and Buchanan fell in the first round of singles.
Allare lost to Oklahoma’s Costin Paval 6-3, 7-5 and Buchanan fell to Southern California’s Ray Sarmiento 3-6, 7-6, 6-3.
Doubles action began on Thursday when OSU doubles pairs Allare and Kobelt, and Buchanan and Rola represented the Buckeyes in the tournament.
Allare and Kobelt fell in the first round to Tennessee’s Boris Conkic and John-Patrick Smith 7-6, 6-2.
Buchanan and Rola advanced to the second after winning their match 6-2, 7-5 against Southern California’s Johnson and Sarmiento.
“We have to bring everything we have to the table and just play our best,” Buchanan said after the fourth round of the team tournament.
After advancing to the second, the duo fell to Louisville’s Austen Childs and Viktor Maksimcuk 7-6, 6-1.
The Buckeyes season may now be officially over, but the team will get back to practicing for next season in mid-June, said coach Ty Tucker.
