Ohio State excellence is not exclusive to the football field or the basketball court. Around the Oval is our way of keeping you informed of the amazing things happening with the other 34 varsity sports on campus.
Tournament Champs
The Ohio State men's hockey team had plenty of quality losses, but lacked any quality win. Now it has two – and a tournament title to boot.
The Buckeyes entered the Florida College Classic with an unimpressive resume, to say the absolute least. Halfway through the season, the team had just three wins – one against Mercyhurst, two against Canisus – and posted an overall record of 3-11.
Ohio State's first matchup was against No. 4 Boston College, and the game started as many would have expected. Just 2:29 into the game, the Eagles already had a 2-0 lead; all signs pointed to a Boston College rout.
In the end however, it was the Buckeyes who came out on top. The Eagles did not score another goal after their initial pair and Ohio State scored three on just four shots on net. The Scarlet and Gray bested No. 4 Boston College 3-2, advancing to face No. 9 Cornell in the Florida College Classic final.
The Buckeyes picked up right where they finished in the previous game and obliterated the Big Red. Eight different Buckeyes found the back of the net and junior goalie Christian Frey made 27 saves to complete his first career shutout. With the 8-0 victory over the nation's No. 9 team, Ohio State took home the Florida College Classic title.
Across the two games, the Buckeyes have now scored 11 unanswered goals. Perhaps this week was the spark this team needed to start playing up to potential.
Fourth Time's a Charm
This week, the Ohio State women's basketball team played its fourth game against a 2015 Final Four team, and after losing the first three to the nation's top three teams, Kevin McGuff's squad finally got a win.
Ohio State downed No. 5 Maryland 80-71, handing the Terps their first-ever Big Ten loss since joining the conference and their first home loss in almost two years.
The win is the Buckeyes' first victory over a top-5 opponent since defeating No. 3 Oklahoma in 2006.
The nation's second leading scorer, Kelsey Mitchell, was again the key factor in the game for the Buckeyes, but it went above her game-leading 28 points. The sophomore wrecked havoc defensively, grabbing a game-high four steals and helping force Maryland into 20 turnovers. For her efforts, Mitchell was given national player of the weeks honors.
Rebounding was also a key in the victory. Though they were out-rebounded by three, it can be seen as a win for the Buckeyes. Maryland entered the game as the best rebounding team in the country, out-rebounding opponents by an average of 20.5 a game while Ohio State typically struggles on the boards. Saturday, however, McGuff's undersized squad showed urgency and effort on the glass absent in earlier games.
Ohio State is now on a six game winning streak which includes back-to-back wins over top-25 teams.
Next up, the No. 9 Buckeyes host Indiana, Thursday at 7 pm.
Freshman Sensation
Freshman Myles Martin makes debut (photo via @wrestlingbucks).
The Ohio State wrestling team is overflowing with exciting news of late – freshman phenom Myles Martin is burning his redshirt, Hunter Stieber is returning from injury and World Champion Kyle Snyder is set to compete this year instead of taking an Olympic redshirt.
However, they aren't returning all at once. Stieber will likely make his season debut next weekend against Michigan while Snyder won't return until Feb. 5. Meaning, this weekend belonged to Myles Martin.
Martin was the No. 3 recruit nationally according to FloWrestling and entered as the top recruit in the 182-pound weight class. Quite simply, he's a stud.
He made his debut Saturday in the 174-pound weight class and dominated from the start. Facing Illinois backup Isaac xReinemann, Martin earned a 22-7 tech fall.
According to our own Curt Heinrichs, "Martin scored more takedowns in seven minutes than some guys score in an entire weekend tournament."
Thanks to a solid outing from the rest of the team, Martin's performance was not in vain. The Buckeyes defeated No. 11 Illinois 22-17, improving to 5-1 on the season and 2-0 in the Big Ten.
Ohio State takes on No. 13 Michigan next weekend, where Hunter Stieber will likely make his season debut.
Don't Forget to Follow
- Wrestling: Curt Heinrichs @CurtHeinrichs
- Men and Women's Hockey: Aubrey Nelson @DeadlyNuts
- Women's Basketball: Kevin Harrish @Kevinish
And for all Buckeye news, follow @11W
