OSU winter sports beginning to heat up
Men’s Volleyball
The Buckeyes, ranked seventh in Volleyball Magazine’s preseason poll, spent the weekend in California.On Friday, OSU swept Pacific, 15-3, 15-10, 15-12. Senior outside hitter Jeff Koterba drilled 18 kills, while sophomore middle hitter Rene’ Esteves added 16 and sophomore outside hitter Jose Pereira chipped in 15. Pereira also rang up 16 digs.Pacific’s Vladimir Andric led the way for Pacific with 24 kills and nine digs.The Buckeyes hit at a .441 clip while holding Pacific to a .214 hitting percentage.On Saturday, the Buckeyes traveled to Palo Alto to take on Stanford, the defending NCAA champion.The Cardinal topped the Buckeyes in four games, 15-9, 15-8, 12-15, 15-13. Stanford’s Andy Witt slammed down 32 kills while Devin Poolman added 18, Keenan Whitehurst added 15 and Tad Hoffman chipped in 13. Setter Josh Lukens dished out 79 assists for the Cardinal.Koterba continued his hot streak for the Buckeyes, putting away 25 kills. Greg Lehman added 17 kills, Esteves added 15 and Jose Rivera contributed 13. Setter Angel Aja distributed 55 assists.Stanford hit at a .409 clip while the Buckeyes were held to a .276 hitting percentage.The Buckeyes, ranked ninth in the inaugural USA TODAY/American Volleyball Coaches Association poll return to action on Saturday when they open Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play by taking on seventh-ranked Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne at 7:30 pm in St. John Arena. Men’s Tennis
The Ohio State men’s tennis team took on New Mexico Saturday in Minneapolis, Minnesota.The Lobos used five wins in seven singles matches to pull out a 4-3 win. On Saturday, the Buckeyes fell to Minnesota, 5-2.This week, Ohio State will travel to East Lansing for the Big Ten Singles Championship. Sixty-four singles players from the Big Ten will compete for the title. Junior Ben Basil was the highest Buckeye finisher last season, going 2-2 on the tournament. Alex Witt and Cary Franklin, ranked Nos. 17 and 43, respectively, will be looking to challenge for the title. Freshman Chris Porter is riding a hot streak going in, as he has compiled a 8-2 record on the year.
Women’s Tennis
The OSU women’s tennis team has jumped off to a strong start, compiling a 2-0 record. Over the weekend, the Buckeyes dominated DePaul, 6-1, and Bowling Green, blanking the Falcons 7-0.This weekend, the Buckeyes travel to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Lady Vols on Saturday. The 12th-ranked Volunteers will be looking to increase their 3-2 all-time lead over the Buckeyes. Freshman Kristy Dascoli, playing at No. 1 singles for the Buckeyes, will take on Manisha Malhotra, who compiled a 10-3 record during the fall season. Cara Whittingham, another Buckeye freshman, will look to stay perfect on her career. Whittingham won her first two college matches last weekend.
Track and Field
The OSU men’s and women’s teams will host Indiana this Saturday at French Field House. The men will be looking for revenge against the Hoosiers, while the women’s squad will be looking to win their second in a row over the Hoosiers.Last weekend, the Buckeyes hosted Wheeling Jesuit and Youngstown State. While no scores were kept, Ohio State athletes captured 15 first-place finishes. Tamieka Porter qualified for the NCAA tournament with a 41’6-1/2″ leap.
Wrestling
The Ohio State wrestling team posted an impressive 5-1 record last week. On Saturday, the Buckeyes hosted Delaware State, Clarion, and North Carolina. The Bucks topped Clarion by a 23-17 final, dominated Delaware State, 48-0, and fell to the Tar Heels by a 24-11 score.On Sunday, the Buckeyes traveled to the Wendy’s Classic in northern Ohio. While there, the Buckeyes dominated, beating all three teams. Mitch Clark, ranked No. 1 in the country at 177 pounds by Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat Wrestling, ran his record to 24-0 in duals by compiling five wins over the weekend.This weekend, the Buckeyes will travel to Pennsylvania to take on Pittsburgh (5-3) and Edinboro (2-3). Clark will face a challenge in Pittsburgh freshman John Withrow, who holds a 13-2 record.
Men’s Gymnastics
The OSU men’s gymnastics team will take on Illinois Saturday night in Larkins Hall. The Illini topped the Buckeyes by less than one point in last weekend’s Windy City Invitational. After finishing third in the Windy City Invitational, the Buckeyes will be trying to get back into the swing of things against the Illini. Illinois finished one spot behind Iowa, the eventual winners. Junior Doug Stibel took third place in the all-around with a score of 56.
Swimming
The men’s swimming team dominated Kenyon over the weekend to run their record to 6-2. The Buckeyes took first place in each event as they won by a 132-68 score. Senior Kevin Kling captured the 50 freestyle and the 200 breaststroke while also swimming on the 400 medley relay team. Junior Christopher Mills took the 200 and 500 freestyles and swam on the 800 freestyle relay.The Buckeyes will be off until January 30-31, when they face Northwestern, Iowa and Penn State.
