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.
Going Dancing
The No. 2 Ohio State men's volleyball team officially punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament Saturday night, downing No. 12 Lewis in five sets to win the MIVA championship and earn an automatic bid to the six team NCAA Tournament.
VIDEO: Check out championship point! ---> https://t.co/V43JWELDci#GoBucks #MIVAvb
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioState_MVB) April 24, 2016
The MIVA Tournament title is the team's first since 2011, which is also the last time the Buckeyes qualified for the NCAA Tournament. It also means Ohio State completed a MIVA trophy sweep after earning the regular season crown as well.
As the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes did not receive the first round bye granted to the top two seeds and will face George Mason in the opening round at 6 p.m. May 3.
With a win in the opening round, the Buckeyes would be pitted against No. 2 seed UCLA – one of just three teams to defeat Ohio State on the season. That however, was before the Buckeyes found their form. Since the 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Bruins in early January, Ohio State is 27-1 and is currently riding a 20-game win streak.
Despite only being a No. 3 seed, Ohio State is the hottest team in the tournament field with the best record – the Buckeyes are poised to make some noise.
B1G Weekend
In a matter of 18 hours, four Ohio State teams won conference titles – men's volleyball, men's tennis, women's tennis and women's golf.
Men's Tennis
The No. 5 Ohio State men's tennis team has now won at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title 11 consecutive times – this year they won the conference outright and in historic fashion. The Buckeyes swept No. 15 Illinois 4-0, Sunday afternoon, improving to 11-0 in the conference and earning the Big Ten regular season title outright.
Ohio State didn't just finish Big Ten play undefeated, they finished it without so much as surrendering a point. The Buckeyes swept every Big Ten opponent they faced in 2016, outscoring them for a combined 44-0 on the season. No team in the history of Big Ten tennis has ever accomplished this feat.
Ohio State has a chance to improve upon this remarkable accomplishment in this weekend's Big Ten tournament, where it will be the top seed.
Bracket is set for the @bigten Tournament. Buckeyes will play winner of Wisconsin/Nebraska at 10 am ET on Friday. pic.twitter.com/KItsfMrcTJ
— Ohio State M Tennis (@OhioState_MTEN) April 24, 2016
The Buckeyes have more in mind than conference titles, however. Led by the nation's top-ranked player in Mikael Torpegaard and sitting at No. 5 in the latest polls boasting an impressive 27-2 record, Ohio State will be a serious contender come NCAA Tournament time.
Women's Tennis
Not to be outdone by the men, the Buckeye women also earned an outright Big Ten regular season title this weekend – their first official Big Ten title since 2000 – doing so in similar dominating fashion.
Outright, undefeated Big Ten Champs! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/qYNHdfwY3P
— Ohio State W Tennis (@OhioState_WTEN) April 24, 2016
The team finished a perfect 11-0 in conference play, but like the men the domination went even further than that. The Buckeyes dropped just a single point on the season, finishing 69-1 – arguably more impressive than the men's team's 44-0 mark.
The women's team also heads to this weekend's Big Ten tournament as the top seed, and like the men has more in mind than just conference championships. Led by No. 4 Francesca Di Lorenzo who won an individual national title as a freshman in the fall, No. 6 Ohio State is poised for a deep NCAA Tournament run.
Women's Golf
For the third straight year, the Ohio State women's golf team is the Big Ten Champion. The Buckeyes fought all the way back from ninth place after day one to earn its Big Ten best 14th conference title.
The leader for the Scarlet and Gray was junior Katja Pogacar. Pogacar shot 8-under on the weekend thanks to a 5-under final round which propelled her up eight slots on the individual leaderboard to second place, earning her runner-up honors.
The Buckeyes now await their NCAA Tournament fate, which they'll learn Monday at 6 p.m. on the NCAA Women’s Golf Selection Show which airs on the Golf Channel.
Other Scores and News
- No. 3 Rowing: Swept all varsity races against No. 16 Syracuse and Michigan State.
- No. 14 Women's Lacrosse: Lost to Rutgers 13-12 in OT and No. 9 Notre Dame 17-9.
- Softball: Swept Ohio in two games and won 2 of 3 against Purdue.
- Baseball: Beat Cincinnati 9-0 but dropped a series two games to one against Illinois.
- Men's Lacrosse: Fell to No. 5 Maryland 10-8.
- Track and Field: Buckeyes took first place in five events at Jesse Owens Classic.
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Men's Golf: Finished eighth at the Big Ten Championships.
2015-'16 Title Count: 1
- Pistol
