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.
It was again a stellar season for the Ohio State athletic program. The Buckeyes earned two team national titles and a slew of individual titles and accolades. The program currently sits at second in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings, trailing only Stanford, with the program's all-time best 1303.5 points.
Deservedly, much praise has been given to Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith for the athletic program's recent domination. Smith was named the 2016 Sports Business Journal Athletics Director of the Year and also became the first sitting athletic director to be given the James J. Corbett Memorial Award by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
Under Smith's leadership, Buckeye teams continue to do great things. We take a look back at what was accomplished during the 2015-'16 season.
National Champions
Team Titles
Ohio State took home team national titles in two sports – pistol and men's volleyball.
Pistol
This season, the Buckeye pistol team earned its third national title in as many years – a three-peat. The title was the program's eighth all-time and the first for rookie head coach Donna Knisley.
Knisley took the reigns of the two time defending champions after head coach James Sweeney retired. Previously, Knisley served as an Ohio State assistant for 15-years where she helped guide the team to seven national titles, including the 2014 and 15 titles.
Men's Volleyball
The Ohio State men's volleyball team wrapped up a dominating 2016 season with a three set sweep of heavily favored and top seeded BYU in the NCAA Championship match.
Ohio State finished with a national best 31-3 record, closing the season on a 23 match win streak spanning over 3 months. During that span, the Buckeyes won 69 of 85 sets, sweeping 10 opponents.
Individual Titles
- Francesca Di Lorenzo (Women's Tennis) – Ohio State freshman Francesca Di Lorenzo won the women's tennis program's first-ever national title in November, winning the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship. Di Lorenzo was also recognized as both the Big Ten Player of the Year and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
- Kyle Snyder (Wrestling) – Kyle Snyder ended Nick Gwiazdowski's 88-match winning streak with an overtime takedown in the heavyweight title match, earning his first NCAA Championship.
- Myles Martin (Wrestling) – As just a true freshman, Myles Martin downed No. 1 Bo Nickal of Penn State to earn the 174-pound NCAA Title.
- Maximilien Chastanet (Fencing) – Maximilien Chastanet won the NCAA Title in men's foil, becoming Ohio State's first men's foil champion since Zain Shaito in 2012.
- Eleanor Harvey (Fencing) – Eleanor Harvey took home the individual NCAA Title in women's foil.
- Alex Johnson (Men's Gymnastics) – Senior captain Alex Johnson earned the NCAA Title in men's high bar with a season-best score of 15.200 at the NCAA Championships.
- Colin Zeng (Men's Diving) – With a score of 499.10, freshman Colin Zeng took home Ohio State's first diving national championships since 2009.
- Emma Baranski (Synchronized Swimming) – Ohio State junior Emma Baranski won the title at the US Collegiate Championships, besting Stanford's Clare McGovern by nearly two points.
- First Varsity Eight (Women's Rowing) – For the third straight season, the Ohio State First Varsity Eight won the NCAA Title, marking the first time in history a team has won three consecutive titles in the event.
Other Notable Seasons
Team Accomplishments
Men's Soccer
After a lackluster start to the 2015 season, the Ohio State men's soccer team got hot. The team closed out the season losing just one of their last 13 matches – a run which included a 10-match unbeaten streak. The Buckeyes earned the 2015 Big Ten Regular Season Title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, where they were beaten 3-1 by eventual national champion Stanford, who is led by Jordan Morris of the United States Men's National Team.
Fencing
Despite the disadvantage of qualifying just 11 of the maximum 12 fencers for the NCAA Championships, the Ohio State fencing team posted a runner-up finish in the NCAA Fencing Championships giving the Buckeyes their 15th consecutive top-five finish.
Baseball
The Ohio State baseball team did not play up to its potential at the start of the 2016 season, but it got hot when it counted. The Buckeyes won 13 of their last 16 regular season games, including six against ranked opponents. The epic run continued through the Big Ten Tournament, as the Buckeyes won four games in just over 24 hours to earn the Big Ten Tournament Title, and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011. The run ended in regional play as Ohio State lost back to back games against Louisville and Wright State.
Wrestling
A year after winning its first ever NCAA Championship, the Ohio State wrestling team posted a third-place finish, highlighted by national championships from Myles Martin and Kyle Snyder, and third place finishes from Nathan Tomasello and Bo Jordan.
Men's Tennis
The Ohio State men's tennis team had another dominating season. The Buckeyes rolled through their conference slate going 11-0, not so much as dropping a point to another Big Ten team during the regular season on their way to their 11th straight Big Ten Title. The Buckeyes kept the momentum going and added a Big Ten Tournament Title. The team fell 4-3 to UCLA in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, ending their season.
Women's Tennis
The Ohio State women's tennis team completed the most successful season in program history in 2015. The Buckeyes finished with a 31-3 record – the first time in program history they've exceeded 20 wins. In addition, the team earn its first-ever No. 1 ranking, won its first Big Ten regular season championship, first Big Ten Tournament championships, hosted its first NCAA Tournament matches, and advanced past the second round for the first time. Ohio State fell to Oklahoma State in the NCAA quarterfinals.
Women's Rowing
Ohio State was unable to complete the unprecedented four-peat this season, and had to "settle" for a runner-up finish. The finish is the program's NCAA-best 10th top-5 finish all time.
Synchronized Swimming
Ohio State was unable to earn its 30th synchronized swimming national title this season. The Buckeyes finished second at the US Collegiate Championships.
Individual Accomplishments
- Zach Mason (Men's Soccer) – Won the 2016 Senior CLASS Award.
- Chris Froschauer (Men's Soccer) – Named the 2016 B1G Goalkeeper of the Year.
- Liam Doyle (Men's Soccer) – Named the 2016 B1G Defensive Player of the Year.
- Kelsey Mitchell (Women's Basketball) – Became third consensus All-American in Ohio State history.
- Mikael Torpegaard (Men's Tennis) – Finished as the runner-up in the NCAA Singles Championship and was named the 2016 Player to Watch given to the nation's top player returning next season.
- Nicholas Szerszen (Men's Volleyball) – Named the 2016 National Player of the Year.
- Pete Hanson (Men's Volleyball) – Named the 2016 National Coach of the Year.
With that, we close the book on the 2015-'16 Ohio State athletic season, and look towards next season.
2015-'16 Title Count: 2
- Pistol
- Men's Volleyball
