A friendship that began over a decade ago between kids on a tennis court is now the future of Ohio State men’s tennis.
Childhood friends Chase Buchanan and Peter Kobelt are reunited at OSU with their sights set on success on the court.
Buchanan and Kobelt first met at the New Albany Country Club.
“We were about 6 or 7 years old when we first met,” Buchanan said. “When we first started battling on the clay.”
The battles on the court were short-lived, though.
“We met playing tennis,” Kobelt said. “We were best friends but when we were 8 and 9 he switched [country] clubs.”
Buchanan, a sophomore ranked No. 10 in the nation, moved to Florida to work on his tennis game while taking online high school courses.
Kobelt, a redshirt freshman, went to high school in New Albany, Ohio, where he became one of the top high school tennis players in the country.
Best friends and now roommates at Ohio State, Kobelt and Buchanan are picking up where they left off as kids.
“We train everyday,” Buchanan said. “We also chill everyday, play a lot of Call of Duty.”
When asked about the possibility of pairing up in the coming years as doubles partners, Kobelt said, “Hopefully next year. I need to get my butt moving, but Chase is doing just fine.”
With OSU men’s tennis being one of the top programs in the country, both Kobelt and Buchanan recognize that success is attainable. OSU is riding a 106-match home winning streak dating back to 2003. The Buckeyes are ranked second in the nation with a young roster made up of two seniors and 10 underclassmen.
“The seniors help a lot,” Buchanan said. “Everybody helps a lot in trying to get better.”
Kobelt has high hopes for Buchanan, himself and the rest of the team.
“We have pretty good team chemistry,” said Kobelt. “Winning a national championship as a team would be very special.”
