The Ohio State Men’s Tennis team huddles up before the Ohio State-Michigan State match on Feb. 13, 2021. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Christian Harsa | Lantern File Photo
No. 5 Ohio State men’s tennis clinched a spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor National Team Championship after defeating Arizona State and No. 17 North Carolina during ITA Kickoff Weekend.
The Buckeyes (5-0) rolled to open the tournament against Arizona State (1-4), taking the match following a strong performance on all courts. The Buckeyes’ top-two-ranked doubles teams showed out, winning 6-0 and 6-1 respectively to take the doubles point.
They continued to roll into singles, where No. 5 graduate Matej Vocel continued his impressive first year in Columbus with a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Arizona State No. 118 sophomore Max McKennon. Other winning courts for Ohio State were junior Cannon Kingsley against freshman Murphy Cassone and No. 14 sophomore JJ Tracy against junior Jacob Bullard.
Things were tougher Sunday against the Tar Heels (2-1), where in doubles No. 2 Justin Boulais and James Trotter were upset by North Carolina seniors Brian Cernoch and Mac Kiger 6-4. Ohio State still rallied to take the doubles point 2-1, with Kingsley and Tracy clinching the deciding set 6-3.
There was a lot of back-and-forth action during singles play Sunday with Kingsley finding himself in his second tiebreaker set in as many weeks. He pulled it out 9-7 and led the second set 5-1 when play ended.
Kingsley, whose previous tiebreaker was knotted 11-11 as the match was called, said that experience was important in helping him win a tight one against No. 60 Cernoch.
“It was a lot of tight points,” Kingsley said. “Having that experience helped me manage the situation, being up match point, down match point and flip flopping. You have to have that mentality that every point matters.”
Kingsley was a game from clinching his court when the match was called, leading 5-1 in the second set. He was among three courts not to finish, joining Tracy and No. 95 Cash who were both in tight contests.
Tracy, facing Kiger in singles, dropped the first set 7-5 before winning the second 6-1 as the match was finishing. Tracy said that beyond physical adjustments, his mental game also contributed to the sudden shift.
“In the second set, I started ramping up my serves, hitting the ball a lot harder, and I started pumping up my teammates and had a better attitude,” Tracy said.
Leading the Buckeyes to the win were Vocel against senior Benjamin Sigouin, No. 42 Trotter against sophomore Logan Zapp, and Boulais against senior Henry Lieberman. Boulais showed out, winning nine straight games at one point on the way to a 6-4, 6-2 victory.
The win broke a two-game losing streak against the Tar Heels, earning the Buckeyes a berth into the tournament that saw North Carolina as its champion a year ago.
Associate head coach Justin Kronauge said the win meant a lot, as the team has not been able to play a full schedule for a few years.
“We deserve to be there,” Kronauge said. “Things didn’t go our way with COVID and scheduling, and we’re happy to advance against the team that won national indoors last year.”
The Buckeyes host No. 1 Tennessee Friday at 6 p.m. at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. The match will be streamed on the Ohio State Buckeyes website.
