With a 7-0 win against conference rival Indiana Sunday afternoon at the Varsity Tennis Center, the Ohio State men’s tennis team moved one step closer to a decade-long home win streak.
The victory brought the No. 5 Buckeyes’ (18-2, 3-0) record-breaking home win streak to 163 games, dating back to April 5, 2003, when OSU fell to Big Ten foe Illinois in Columbus, 5-2.
Leading the way in match play for the Scarlet and Gray on Sunday was senior Connor Smith, who clinched the winning point in his singles match which he won, 6-1, 6-4. Other notable victories for the Buckeyes were earned by redshirt senior Devin McCarthy (6-1, 6-2), redshirt sophomore Hunter Callahan (6-4, 6-1) and junior Blaz Rola (6-0, 6-4).
The Buckeyes also won doubles play in shutout fashion. OSU pairings of Smith and redshirt junior Peter Kobelt, McCarthy and junior Ille Van Engelen and Rola and redshirt sophomore Kevin Metka all edged out their competitors, 8-6 each.
Kobelt, Rola and redshirt freshman Chris Diaz played out their singles matches to finish the afternoon, although the team had already secured victory before the matches had been completed.
The team will hit the road for its next three matches against Nebraska on Friday, Iowa on Sunday and Kentucky on April 3 before returning to Columbus to take on Wisconsin on the 10-year anniversary of its last home loss.
The Buckeyes are scheduled to face Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb., on Friday at 4 p.m.