Perhaps the biggest news outside of football and basketball this week came when the powerhouse that is Ohio State Men's Volleyball suffered their first loss of the season which was also their first in over a year. UC Irvine was able to sweep the top-ranked Bucks, ending their 42-match win streak.
Men's Volleyball
The Buckeyes opened their weekend of competition strong with a sweep of UC San Diego Friday, but then saw their impressive run and hopes of rewriting NCAA history dashed on Saturday.
The team's 42-match win streak was broken by UC-Irvine Saturday, as the Anteaters took down the Buckeyes in three sets. The Buckeyes had not suffered a loss in 399 days, with their last coming on Feb. 6, 2016.
The Buckeyes were absolutely dominant throughout the streak, winning over 80 percent of total sets and beating 18 teams ranked within the top 12 in the nation. The streak was a MIVA Conference record and an Ohio State school record for longest win streak for a team competing in head-to-head competition.
@OhioState_MVB you created a fan for life today. #classact #gobucks pic.twitter.com/N1JiD2JgKK
— Alissa Durbin (@ADurbin08) March 12, 2017
Tennis
The men's team had the week off, but the No. 2 women's team continued to cement its place near the top of the NCAA rankings.
The Buckeyes took down the Cavaliers 5-2, extending their home winning streak to 25 in a row. No. 1 sophomore Francesca Di Lorenzo's swept UVA's No. 75 Cassie Mercer.
#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/QGDINJ9qeD
— Ohio State W Tennis (@OhioState_WTEN) March 8, 2017
Gymnastics
The No. 4 men's gymnastics team traveled to Norman, Okla., to take on the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners this week after an impressive performance at the Arnold Challenge March 4, but were defeated 434.550-417.600.
The loss was the Buckeyes' first in head-to-head competition this season, and was only their second on the season (the Bucks placed second to No. 3 Illinois at the Windy City Invitational Jan. 14).
Despite the team loss, three Buckeyes continued to be impressive and bring home event titles: redshirt junior Sean Melton on rings, sophomore Alec Yoder on pommel horse and redshirt senior Jake Martin in the all-around.
Final from Norman. @AlecYoder, @MeltonSean and @jaghyke win event titles! Full recap at https://t.co/aho7nwZlo7 soon! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/vpNV2GcjL3
— Ohio State Men's Gym (@OhioState_MGYM) March 12, 2017
Melton's total score of 85.300 was good for the sixth-best performance in the NCAA this season, and he also led the Buckeyes in high bar (14.500), parallel bars (14.300), and set a personal best on the pommel horse (14.800). Yoder, with a 15.400, also set a personal best on pommel horse, as well as setting the bar for the highest score in the NCAA and highest for a Buckeye since 2008.
No. 24 women's gymnastics finished third at the Big Ten Five-Team meet in Champaign, Ill., which qualified the team for the evening session at Big Ten Championships March 18.
Junior Alexis Mattern was impressive, finishing seventh in the all-around competition with a 38.325. Freshman Olivia Aepli and sophomore Jamie Stone tied for first place on vault, along with two other competitors from No. 13 Nebraska, with a 9.850.
Ice Hockey
No. 15 men's icers closed their regular season with a two-game sweep at No. 16 Wisconsin. The team's play had been sporadic in recent weeks (see: split sets with unranked Michigan and Michigan State in consecutive weekends), but an impressive win over the Badgers bodes well for the team moving into the postseason.
In the two-game series, the Buckeyes scored eight goals while holding the Badgers to a total of two, winning 5-1 Friday and 3-1 Saturday. Senior forwards Drew Brevig and David Gust, along with sophomore Mason Jobst, tallied a goal and an assist apiece. Sophomores Dakota Joshua and Miguel Fiedler rounded out the scoring.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes did all their scoring in the first and second periods, with each of Jobst, junior Kevin Miller and sophomore Brendon Kearney scoring one goal in the game. Senior goalie Matt Tomkins also had an impressive night, saving 27 of 28 total attempts by the Badgers.
Great passing - and finishing - on all three Buckeye goals last night. #GoBucks https://t.co/ea6rZJlvTh
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) March 12, 2017
Lacrosse
No. 16 men's lacrosse stayed perfect on the season with an emphatic 12-4 victory over Cleveland State in the Shoe Saturday. Midfielders Tre Leclaire (freshman) and Austin Seiple (junior) each scored two goals in the game, but perhaps the most impressive feat from the afternoon came from the stick of senior midfielder Jake Withers, who broke Ohio State's school record for career groundballs when he recorded his 239th (third in the matchup).
Women's lacrosse was not quite as fortunate throughout the week, as the team traveled for two road matchups against Notre Dame and Holy Cross, but dropped both matchups.
On Friday against the Fighting Irish, the Buckeyes lost 16-13, but freshman midfielder Liza Hernandez was able to rack up three goals and four assists on four shots. Freshman midfielder Sage Darling put in four goals of her own in the matchup.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes played one of their closest games of the season against the Holy Cross Crusaders before being edged out 11-10. The Buckeyes were down only one goal after the first half, and both teams scored five in the second as the Crusaders were able to hold their lead.
Junior attacker Molly Field led the charge for the Buckeyes against the Crusaders with four goals on 10 shots, while freshman attacker Alex Vander Molen and senior midfielder Paulina Constant added two goals apiece.
Coach Myers and Jake Withers, who set the OSU career GB record today, talked after the Buckeyes' win. https://t.co/WHQ2Rvw3lH #GoBucks
— Ohio State Men's LAX (@OhioState_MLAX) March 12, 2017
Baseball/Softball
The baseball team began a three-game series with No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast Friday, and ultimately dropped the set, but won the final game, giving the team an exclamation point to end the weekend.
The Bucks lost 10-9 Friday in a bit of a collapse, as the Eagles came into the ninth down 9-4, but were able to score six runs in the ninth to seal their comeback victory. Junior left fielder Tyler Cowles went had two hits and 4 RBI in four at bats in the game.
Saturday, the Buckeyes weren't able to keep it close, as the Eagles jumped out to a 6-1 lead after three innings and won 13-1 after nine innings of play. The Buckeyes only run came from junior first basemen Bo Coolen, who scored on a fielding error in the top of the second.
Despite the two losses, Sunday was a triumphant day for the Bucks, which saw the team score three runs in the first. They would never relinquish that lead, despite a three-run ninth by the Eagles. Redshirt junior Adam Niemeyer pitched five innings and allowed only a single run, junior center fielder Tre' Gantt, batting leadoff, racked up four hits on five at bats, and Coolen added a two-run homer of his own to lead the Buckeyes.
With the win, the Buckeyes halted FGCU's win streak at ten straight.
The softball team went 3-1 over the weekend in the Wilson/DeMarini tournament, with their only loss coming to No. 16 Georgia in the first game of a doubleheader Friday.
Following the loss, the Buckeyes were dominant, and didn't allow a single run in three more weekend tilts. They took down UCF 8-0 to finish their first doubleheader, then beat Delaware State 7-0 and Mercer 4-0 in a Saturday doubleheader.
Pitchers Shelby McCombs (junior), Morgan Ray (sophomore) and Shelby Hursh (senior) led the Buckeyes Saturday in their combined no-runs-allowed effort. McCombs and Ray allowed only two hits in the first matchup, while Hursh pitched a complete game shutout in the second game.
Sending #Buckeye greetings from Orlando. Spring break is off to a good start. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/ASbZGznOwa
— Ohio State Softball (@OhioState_SB) March 12, 2017
Track & Field
Eight Buckeyes performed well enough throughout the season to attend the NCAA Champiosnhips in College Station, Texas, including junior Nick Demaline for shot put, sophomore Sade Olatoye for weight throw, senior Deshawn Marshall for 200-meter dash, senior Rachel Weber for 800-meter run and the women's 4x400 relay team.
The Buckeyes were impressive in their events, where the women's 4x400 team became the first in school history to earn First Team All-America honors, and Olatoye placed fourth and Demaline palced sixth en route to making their way to the First Team All-America ranks as well.
Marshall and Weber placed 16th in their respective events.
Couple of First Team All-America performances last night to close out the indoor season...on to outdoors we go! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/QBPPbinnoy
— Ohio State T&F/XC (@OhioState_TFXC) March 12, 2017
Other Events
The Ohio State Rifle team shot a 2359 in air rifle and a 4670 total to finish seventh at NCAA Championships.
Upcoming
March 13
Women's Golf vs. Purdue + TBD opponent (Los Angeles)
Women's Lacrosse vs. Harvard (Boston)
Pistol, National Collegiate Pistol Championships
March 14
Baseball vs. Lehigh (Port Charlotte, Fla.)
Softball vs. Stetson (DeLand, Fla.)
Women's Tennis @ Florida
Men's Lacrosse @ Towson
Women's Golf, Gifford Great 8 Collegiate Match Play (Los Angeles)
Pistol, National Collegiate Pistol Championships
March 15
Softball vs. Bethune Cookman (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
Men's Tennis @ Texas
Men's Gymnastics @ Michigan
Baseball vs. Bucknell (Port Charlotte, Fla.)
Women's Swimming, NCAA Championships
Pistol, National Collegiate Pistol Championships
March 16
Men's Volleyball @ Loyola
Women's Swimming, NCAA Championships (Indianapolis)
Pistol, National Collegiate Pistol Championships
Wrestling, NCAA Championships (St. Louis)
Men's Ice Hockey, Quarterfinals, opponent TBD (Detroit)
March 17
Softball vs. Army West Point (Tampa, Fla.)
Softball vs. Missouri (Tampa, Fla.)
Women's Tennis vs. Wisconsin
Baseball vs. Xavier
Pistol, National Collegiate Pistol Championships
Men's Ice Hockey, Semifinals, Opponent TBD (Detroit)
Track & Field, Baldy Castillo Invite (Tempe, Ariz.)
Women's Swimming, NCAA Championships
Wrestling, NCAA Championships
March 18
Women's Lacrosse vs. Michigan
Women's Gymnastics, Big Ten Championships (Piscataway, N.J.)
Softball vs. Auburn, North Dakota State (Tampa, Fla.)
Baseball vs. Xavier
Men's Ice Hockey, Championship (Detroit)
Men's Volleyball @ Lewis
Track & Field, Baldy Castillo Invite
Wrestling, NCAA Championships
March 19
Women's Tennis @ Minnesota
Women's Lacrosse vs. Binghamton
Men's Tennis @ Texas A&M
Baseball @ Xavier
Men's Lacrosse vs. Denver
Men's Golf, Linger Longer Invitational (Greensboro, Ga.)
