Around the Oval: Spring Semester Preview

By Magee Sprague on December 19, 2016 at 3:30 pm
Defending Natty Champs
via Ohio State Athletics
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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.

Non-revenue sports are winding down for the fall but will pick right back up in 2017. Here's your guide to all things non-revenue for the spring semester.

hockey

The men's hockey team is off to one of it's best seasons in a long time, just like another Columbus hockey team we all know and love. The Buckeyes are sitting at 9-2-4 and ranked No. 9 in the nation after the first half of the season.

The team will start off the second half of the season on New Year's Eve against Miami (Ohio) in Columbus. After that, it's all B1G match-ups for the Buckeyes aside from one series with Arizona State. The Scarlet and Gray have a tough slate ahead of them with four games a piece against No. 3 Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, No. 10 Minnesota, and Wisconsin. On Saturday, January 28 the team will travel to New York City to face Wisconsin in Madison Square Garden for the College Hoops and Hockey Doubleheader. 

Senior captain Nik Shilkey leads the team with 13 goals for the season and six assists. Shilkey scored his 100th career point for the Scarlet and Gray earlier this season and is already up to 108. Senior David Gust is following closely behind with 10 goals and six assists so far. Freshman Tanner Laczynski has six goals and is leading the team with 16 assists in his first season on the ice with the Buckeyes. 

The women's team is sitting at 8-10-2 heading into 2017. The team will resume play on January 6 against Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania. The Buckeyes' spring opponents include Bemidji State, No. 2 Minnesota, No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, St. Could State, Minnesota State, and No. 10 North Dakota. Maddy Field is leading the team with six goals and six assists. Samantha Bouley is following close behind with four goals and four assists of her own.

Now, please enjoy these festive tweets from the men's and women's hockey teams.

GYMNASTICS

The Ohio State men's gymnastics team will start off its season on January 14 at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago. The team will host just three home matches this season against UIC, Michigan, and the Arnold Challenge. The Buckeyes made it to the NCAA Championship last year where they went up against Oklahoma and Stanford, but came away in third place. The team, ranked No. 3 in the preseason poll, is bit more seasoned this year and ready to bring the national championship trophy home to Columbus. 

This Buckeye team is on the hunt for a national title and will be led there by redshirt junior Sean Melton and sophomore Alec Yoder. Melton, and Orlando Florida native, currently holds the school record in the all around, 91.600, and the NCAA record in parallel bars, 16.175. Melton is a five time Big Ten champion, six time All-American, former Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and Big Ten Gymnast of the Year. Yoder, hailing from Indianapolis, Indiana, was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, was a Big Ten champion on the pommel horse, and three time All-American in his first year on the floor for Ohio State. 

The women's gymnastics team will kick off the season on January 7 against Pitt in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team will have five home meets this year against Iowa, Rutgers, West Virginia, Denver and a tri-meet against Michigan, Washington, and Kent State. The roster is led by four seniors; Michelle Burns, Tenille Funches, Erin Malone, and Jaine VanPutten. The Buckeyes will be introducing three new faces to the squad this year with freshmen Nevin Adamski, Olivia Aepli, and Peyton Hinterberger.  

men's volleyball

The reigning NCAA champions will make their return to college volleyball Friday, December 30 against McMaster in Hamilton, Ontario. The Scarlet and Gray ended last season with an outstanding record of 29-2 and a national championship. To no surprise, this team is ranked No. 1 in the preseason AVCA Men's Volleyball poll and ready to defend its title. 

For the home opener, the Buckeyes will host the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge on January 6 and 7. Ohio State will face off against USC on Friday night and UCLA on Saturday. The Buckeyes defeated UCLA not too long ago in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, 3-2. 

Ohio State will have 13 players returning to the roster from last year's championship season, including AVCA National Player of the Year Nicolas Szerszen. Last year as a sophomore, the France native set the Ohio State record for all-time service aces with 63 and is on pace to break the records for all-time kills and points this season. 

tennis

The women's tennis team will resume play on on January 11 at the Daytona Beach 25k. The team will host Florida State, Alabama, and Harvard January 28 and 29 for ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Buckeyes will forge into B1G play starting on March 17 against Wisconsin in Columbus. This team ended last season with an impressive record of 31-3 overall, 11-0 in the conference, and 15-0 at home. 

Francesca DiLorenzo, just a sophomore at Ohio State, is already a three-time ITA national champion. Last year she was the B1G Freshman of the Year and just the third All-American in Buckeye tennis history. This season there will be three Scarlet and Gray seniors on the court, Gabriella De Santis, Miho Kowase, and Sandy Niehaus. 

The men's tennis team will take on in-state opponents Toledo and Cleveland State in the home opener on January 18. B1G play will start up on February 15 at Penn State. This team ended last season 27-9 overall, 10-1 in the conference, and 18-1 and home. 

The Buckeyes are led by junior Mikael Torpegaard, the 2016 B1G Player of the Year. He spent five weeks last season ranked No. 1 in the nation, was a singles All-American, and was undefeated in regular season matches. Torpegaard fell short in the national title match to end last season but will no doubt return to the national stage to compete for the title again. 

baseball

Buckeye baseball will be back on February 17 to take on Kansas State in Osceola, Florida. Ohio State will host a three game series at Bill Davis Stadium on March 17 against Xavier for the home opener. 

The Buckeyes ended last season 44-20-1, only losing four games at home all season. The team won the Big Ten tournament and made it to regionals in the NCAA tournament. This will definitely be a rebuilding year for the Scarlet and Gray, as they lost six players to the MLB draft, the most of any team in the Big Ten. 

softball

The Ohio State softball team will start off the season on February 10 at the Aggie Classic in College Station, Texas. The team will host a two game series against Wright State on March 29 for the home opener. Last year the Buckeyes went 34-20-1 overall and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years. 

The Buckeyes lost a great player in Cammi Prantl who held two all-time records in hits (247) and doubles (64). Prantl, hailing from my own hometown of Ashville, Ohio, had 164 career runs in the scarlet and gray uniform and graduated from Ohio State this semester. The team will have four returning seniors, Alex Bayne, Shelby Hursh, Anna Kirk, and Lena Springer. 

Here's to a spring that will be filled with many more Big Ten and national championships. Go Bucks! 

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