Around the Oval is Eleven Warriors' weekly love letter to Ohio State's non-revenue sports.
Hill continues to climb chartsAfter finally snapping their four-game losing streak against Indiana, the Ohio State women's basketball team was looking to continue their reversal of form as they traveled to Madison. Unfortunately for them, they ran into a Wisconsin team who were even more desperate for a win, themselves being in the middle of a six-game losing streak.
The Buckeyes dropped a 68-49 game on Sunday afternoon, the team's first loss to the Badgers since 2001. You read that right – 2001. Twelve years.
Although the Scarlet & Gray led by as much as nine in the first half, the team couldn't keep the advantage as the game went on. They shot only 20% in the second half, allowing Wisconsin to rack up the points and go on a 21-4 run that would dictate the outcome of the game.
In defeat, Tayler Hill led the Bucks again with 16 points, moving her into 8th place overall on the all-time scoring list at Ohio State. Junior Ashley Adams was the only other Buckeye in double figures with 11, to go along with her 15 rebounds, her fourth double-double on the year.
Ohio State is now 11-8 overall, but only 1-5 in conference. Their next game isn't until Sunday against Penn State at Value City Arena, a 1 p.m. tipoff.
Men's Hockey
Last weekend the men's hockey team traveled to That State Up North looking to get into a better position in the CCHA standings as they faced one of the teams below them, Northern Michigan.
Unfortunately the Buckeyes were swept by the Wildcats, the first time Coach Osiecki's team has ended a weekend series with no points to their name.
In the matchup on Friday night, things were all square until NMU scored two in a five-minute span in the second period. However, it didn't take Ohio State long to respond, as freshman forward Anthony Greco scored his second on the year to keep his team in it. An OSU power play to start the third didn't yield a tying goal, and soon after the Wildcats extended their lead to 2 yet again.
But just as before, the Buckeyes found a way to respond, scoring only 44 seconds later through sophomore forward Tanner Fritz, his fourth of the season. Again they were only one goal down, trading attacks with their hosts as they continually searched for a goal of any kind. A power play with less than four minutes to go looked to be the opportunity they needed, but none of their three shots were on net and only a minute after the penalty expired NMU scored the killer on an empty netter to win, 4-2.
The second game was very much the same, with Northern Michigan scoring first and Ohio State responding through a power-play goal from Max McCormick. But another slow start in the third period cost the Buckeyes two goals, and even though a late Curtis Gedig tally cut the deficit to one, it was again a goal too far for Ohio State as they lost, 3-2. The team dropped to 8-11-5 and have lost five of their last six.
The Buckeyes are back home this weekend for the first time in over a month when they face Lake Superior State. Both Friday and Saturday's games are slated to begin at 7:05 p.m. at Value City Arena.
Men's Swimming & Diving
This past weekend the No. 6 ranked Ohio State men's swimming & diving team competed in a tri-meet in Bloomington, Indiana, on Sunday, coming in second just behind the Hoosiers (148-150) but ahead of Iowa Hawkeyes (183-105).
To begin the meet, the Buckeyes won the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:28:63 from a team featuring Garrett Trebilcock, Keanu Stevenson, Tim Phillips and Jason Schnur. Phillips's 48.22 time in the 100 butterfly also gave him the win in that category.
Another relay team – the 400 freestyle – won on the day, this group being comprised of Michael Meldon, Zach Holmes, Alex Miller and the aforementioned Schnur.
But the most successful Buckeye on the day was in fact junior Alex Miller, who won both the 1,000 and 500 freestyle races. His time of 9:09:48 in the 1,000 category being the fourth-best time recorded in the entire Big Ten this season.
The men's swim & dive team hosts Cincinnati in a co-ed meet on Saturday at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion for their final home meet of the season.
Men's Soccer
Future TimberWhile the men's soccer season may be over, there was some big news regarding of one the squad's star players. On Tuesday, forward Chris Hegngi – a four-year starter – was drafted by the Portland Timbers as the third pick in the second round of the MLS Supplemental Draft.
Hegngi was a standout during his time at Ohio State, starting 77 of the 79 games he played. He was the central attacking force for the team this past fall, and contributed 18 goals and 11 assists throughout his career.
He was named to the all-Big Ten team twice, and was the Big Ten player of the year in 2011, his junior season when he scored a career-high nine goals. Hegngi's production wasn't quite as high this past year, but he always led from the front, contributing to the team with his considerable leadership and work ethic.
Hegngi is the 15th Buckeye drafted by Major League Soccer since 2003. Two former Buckeyes are currently in the league: Eric Brunner with the Houston Dynamo and Matt Lampson with the Columbus Crew. There was also former Buckeye and Honduran international Roger Espinoza, who played for Sporting Kansas City until he signed for English Premier League side Wigan Athletic this month.
Hopefully Hegngi can make the squad for this season, as Portland is known for having the most passionate fan base in the league, along with one of the coolest stadiums around. Add to that the chance for him to appear in an episode of "Portlandia", and this pick has a large amount of upside.
