Around The Oval: Men's Tennis and Lacrosse Fall, Baseball Slumping, and Rowing Wins Third Straight B1G Title

LAX'S RUN ENDS IN THE QUARTERFINALS

Nick Myers's team had, to put it mildly, an inconsistent year. They put together some impressive wins, beating four NCAA Tournament teams including three of the teams remaining in the Final Four. With those wins, however, came some head scratching losses to teams like Detroit and Rutgers. It seemed like there were two different Buckeye teams, and you weren't ever sure which one you were going to get. One team was a bunch of world-beaters who could hang with anyone in the country, and the other was a team was dominated by 4-10 Rutgers 17 to 10. So which team showed up to face Denver in the NCAA Quarterfinals? Well, both.

The Buckeyes started the game on a 7-1 run and everything was clicking. They were winning face-offs, getting the match-ups they wanted, getting good shots, and really dominating the game. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, that's when Mr. Hyde showed up. After the 7-1 run, Ohio State didn't  score again for another 25 minutes of game-time. Denver went on an nine goal run that included seven straight saves by their goal keeper Ryan LePlant. They took the lead, and they never gave it back.

Ohio State was winning face-offs against the top face-off man in the nation, but it couldn't hold onto the ball, couldn't get off any good shots, and struggled to make any stops or saves on the defensive end. They were defeated 15-13, falling short of what would have been the first Final Four appearance in program history.

The team graduates 12 seniors, including the do-it-all captain Jesse King, who had a career high six assists and nine points in his final game as a Buckeye. He spent his career bouncing between midfield and attack, depending on where he was needed most. This year especially, he played a key leadership role as the field general for the Buckeyes, organizing the offense. He will go down as one of the best players in program history, finishing fourth all-time in points (208) and goals (119) and fifth in assists (89).

TENNIS FALLS TO TEXAS A&M

Back in January, Texas A&M handed Ohio State their first loss of the season. Thursday, they also handed them their last.

The match was as close as it gets right from the start. The doubles point came down to a tie-break on senior Hunter Callahan and junior Chris Diaz's court, but was won by the Aggies 7-5, and that proved to be critical to the match's outcome.

Texas A&M hopped out to a 3-1 lead, but Ohio State battled back. The two Buckeye seniors, Kevin Metka and Hunter Callahan, won what turned out to be their matches in three sets tying it up at 3-3. The match came down to Ohio State sophomore Herkko Pollanen vs. Texas A&M's Arthur Rinderknech, and was won by Rinderknech in the third set, 6-4 sealing up the 4-3 win for the Aggies.

This loss ends the Buckeye team's run in the NCAA Tournament, but a few members will compete for individual and double's titles starting Wednesday and Thursday. Chris Diaz and Mikael Torpegaard will compete in singles play, and Kevin Metka and Ralph Steinbach will compete in the doubles championships.

BASEBALL LIMPS INTO POSTSEASON

A month ago, the Buckeye baseball team looked like a lock for the NCAA Tournament, and many were starting to talk about the possibility of Ohio State even hosting an NCAA Regional with a strong finish to the season.

It was not a strong finish.

After going on a seven game win streak which included two wins over 24th-ranked Nebraska, the Buckeyes hit a slump. In the month of May, the Buckeyes have won just one Big Ten Conference game by one run. They've lost eight of their last nine conference games and have fallen all the way to 27th in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. In terms of NCAA Tournament hopes, Ohio State is now a bubble team. Even if they were to get into the tournament, with how they're currently playing, they won't last very long.

Fortunately for the Buckeyes, they have a chance to improve their tournament resume and gain some much needed momentum with a strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State is matched up against Iowa in the first round of the tournament Wednesday. Iowa is a team that the Buckeyes have not faced this year, but they are currently ranked ahead of Ohio State in the RPI rankings (25th) and have season sweeps of Nebraska and Indiana, two teams the Buckeyes struggled with.

The team's dream of making its first tournament since 2009 is still very much alive, but they quite simply need to play much better baseball to have even a hope of succeeding once they get there.

ROWING WINS B1G TITLE. AGAIN.

There are quite a few Ohio State programs that are just habitual winners, and the rowing team is one of them. This weekend, the team again dominated, winning six of seven finals and finishing with a Big Ten Championship record 186 points.

The team is not done yet. The Buckeyes sit atop the national rankings again this week for the ninth-straight time, and they are the favorites heading into the NCAA Championships in two weeks. If they win, it will be their third national title in as many years, and the fifth national title for the program overall.

Other Scores and News

• Men's Golf finished 8th in its NCAA Regional this weekend, falling just three strokes short of finishing in the top-five and advancing. Sophomore Addison Coll lost a two-man playoff for the best score of the weekend, and a chance to advance.
• Men's Track finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships this weekend. Senior Timothy Faust won gold in the 200m.
• Women's Track finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships this weekend. The team also won three gold medals. Junior Aisha Cavin set a new school record in the 200m with a time of 22.86, Katie Borchers won gold in the 800m, and the 4x400 relay team of SoSo Walker, Aaliyah Barnes, Beatrice Hannan, and Aisha Cavin also won gold.

What's Happening This Week

• Baseball begins the B1G Tournament against Iowa Wednesday

2014-15 'Ship Count: 4

• Football
• Wrestling
• Pistol
• Synchronized Swimming