Buckeye 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.
Just Keep Winning
As if the Ohio State men's volleyball team's unbeaten streak wasn't already impressive enough before this weekend, the Buckeyes added to their resume with a dominating performance at the Asics Invitational Tournament.
Ohio State faced two top-15 opponents in No. 14 UC Irvine and No. 1 Long Beach State, and the Bucks downed them both, extending their unbeaten streak to nine matches.
Ohio State's triumph over No. 1 Long Beach State was the team's first victory over a top-ranked opponent since the Buckeyes downed Pepperdine on March 24, 1998.
This was the scene:
How it feels to defeat the No. 1 team in the country on the road...#GoBucks #MIVAvb pic.twitter.com/lycecSnQz5
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioState_MVB) March 13, 2016
In addition to the huge win, three Buckeyes were named to the Asics Invitational All-Tournament team – Gabriel Domecus, Driss Guessous and Nicolas Szerszen. Szerszen, the Buckeyes' offensive star, was also named the Tournament's MVP.
No. 5 Ohio State remains on the road next week with a lone match against Penn State, where the Buckeyes will look to improve their win streak to 10 straight matches.
Going for Four
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State |
| 2 | California |
| 3 | Brown |
| 4 | Virginia |
| 5 | Washington |
| 6 | Yale |
| 7 | Texas |
| 8 | Stanford |
| 9 | Washington State |
| 10 | Princeton |
Last May, the Ohio State women's rowing team became the first squad in NCAA history to win three consecutive national titles. This year, the Buckeyes will be going for their fourth, and they'll be at the top of the polls from the start.
Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in the College Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA)/US Rowing Preseason Top 20 poll. The Buckeyes received 17 of 25 first place votes. Last year's runner-up, California, sits at No. 2 with three first place votes.
Ohio State's season kicks-off March 26 in Princeton, N.J., where they'll be tested early. The Buckeyes open the season against No. 3 Brown and No. 10 Princeton. OSU's 2016 slate includes four more match-ups against top-20 opponents on the season, so the Buckeyes will be well tested come NCAA Championship time.
A title in 2016 would mean an NCAA Championship every season for the graduating seniors – a rare feat in any sport.
Tournament Time
A few weeks ago, Ohio State looked to be nearly a lock for a Big Ten regular season title and a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. After three losses in four games, however, the Buckeyes are without a conference title and are now looking at a likely No. 3 seed in the Big Dance.
Still, Kevin McGuff's squad has the talent to make a deep tournament run, pending senior guard Ameryst Alston's injury status and the team's selected bracket region.
Alston injured her right wrist in Ohio State's first Big Ten Tournament game and although she played through the injury in the following game, she was largely ineffective scoring no points in just 10 minutes of action.
Alston is the team's second leading scorer. Without her, the already depleted Buckeye squad would be in deep trouble, lacking a reliable second offensive threat to the team's leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell. Alston remains confident that she will play in the NCAA Tournament, but her effectiveness remains to be seen.
Almost just as important as Altson's status is the region the Buckeyes draw in the tournament. With close games against No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 South Carolina as well as two wins against No. 5 Maryland, Ohio State has proven that they can play with anybody – except Connecticut. When the Buckeyes hosted the top-ranked Huskies at the start of the season, UConn left Columbus with a 44 point victory.
Today's Buckeye squad is obviously a much improved version of the one that got steamrolled in November, but it still wants no part of the Husky death-machine in March. This means Ohio State will want to avoid the Bridgeport Conn. region at all costs. The bad news: that's exactly the region where ESPN's Charlie Creme placed the Buckeyes in his latest projection.
The 2016 Bracket will be officially released tonight at 7 pm. Eleven Warriors will provide updates on Ohio State's seed, tournament path, and ticketing information as it comes.
Other Scores and News
- No. 2 Women's Tennis: Swept Both Dayton and Cincinnati 7-0.
- No. 20 Men's Lacrosse: Fell to No. 14 Hofstra 8-5
- No. 17 Women's Lacrosse: Defeated Cincinnati 11-5 and Virginia Tech 10-8
- No. 3 Men's Gymnastics: Finished behind No. 1 Oklahoma's fourth best score in NCAA history (451.250) in a weekend meet, posting a score of 446.700, good for second in school history. Buckeye Sean Melton won the all-around competition posting a 91.600.
- Women's Gymnastics: Finished third with a score of 196.100 in the weekend's Big Ten Five-Team meet.
- Baseball: Lost two games to UNLV 5-2 and 8-7, but won another 20-3.
- Softball: Went 2-2 at Arizona State Tournament, defeating Georgetown and Arizona State but falling to James Madison and Nebraska
- Men's Hockey: Extended unbeaten streak to seven games with a 6-5 OT win over Michigan State and a 1-1 tie.
- Men's Golf: Finished ninth of 18 in the Tiger Invitational
- Men's Track and Field: Finished 24th overall at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
- Women's Track and Field: 4x4 relay team finished 10th at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
- No. 7 Rifle Team: Finished seventh at the NCAA Championships.
- No. 6 Fencing: All 16 Buckeyes finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Midwest regional. Fares Afra and and Lewis Weiss qualify automatically for the NCAA Championships with first place finishes.
