Around the Oval: Men's Tennis Clinches a Share of the Big Ten, Men's Lacrosse Thrashes Michigan and Volleyball Sweeps to Move to Conference Semis

By TJ Neer on April 17, 2017 at 1:05 pm
Ohio State men's volleyball.
Ohio State Athletics.
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As seasons come to a close for spring sports, many programs have their eyes set on deep postseason runs and have high hopes for a championship.

Men's Volleyball

Entering the MIVA Conference tournament over the weekend, the Buckeyes had a perfect conference record and were the No. 2 team in the country. They lived up to their billing with a dominant showing over Quincy to advance to the MIVA Conference semifinals.

The Bucks defeated the Hawks in straight sets, led by juniors Nicolas Szerszen, with 13 kills on 19 attempts (.684) and Maxime Hervoir, who had nine kills on 11 attempts (.727). The team was never behind in any set on the night.

The match came only two days after Szerszen was announced as a repeat winner of MIVA Player of the Year as well as coach Pete Hanson winning Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year.

In the conference semifinals, Ohio State will face the Ball State Cardinals, a team they have a lot of familiarity with. On the season, the Bucks were 2-0 against Ball State and will look to take that regular season success with them into the postseason.

Tennis

Ohio State is quietly a tennis powerhouse, as both the men's and women's teams are ranked in the top five in the NCAA and boast the No. 1 player in the country. Both also have flexed their competitive muscles with impressive wins this week.

Facing off against Minnesota Friday and Wisconsin Sunday, men's tennis nearly looked flawless, outscoring the Golden Gophers and Badgers by a combined score of 12-2.

Junior phenoms Mikael Torpegaard and Hugo Di Feo were untouchable over the weekend, as both captured singles wins in straight sets and led teammates to victories in doubles matchups.

With the two wins, the Buckeyes have officially claimed a share of this season's Big Ten title, and will look to win it outright with two more conference matches next weekend.

The women's team also impressed this week as they were able to notch wins over Illinois and Northwestern to preserve their perfect conference record, which is now 9-0 on the season. In the two matches, the Bucks didn't lose a single set.

Senior Miho Kowase won her match with Northwestern's Alex Chatt to become the program's all-time leader in singles wins at 105, surpassing Kristy Dascoli who tallied 104 wins from 1998-2001. Kowase is now 20-0 this spring, and 28-3 on the season.

The No. 26 doubles team of Kowase (No. 88 singles player) and Francesca Di Lorenzo (No. 1 singles player) came from behind to upset Northwestern's No. 15 tandem of Chatt and Maddie Lipp.

 

Lacrosse

The No. 10 Buckeyes traveled to Ann Arbor to take on the unranked Wolverines in Michigan Stadium, and they held nothing back.

In one of their most impressive showings of the season, the Bucks thrashed Michigan 18-7. Five Buckeyes scored at least two goals, including a team-leading four goals (and two assists) by senior attacker Eric Fannell and three goals (and five assists) by freshman phenom Tre Leclaire.

Women's lacrosse faced off against the No. 1 team in the country — Maryland — and suffered a loss, but still put up more of a fight than Michigan against the men's team.

Taking on the top-ranked team in the country is no small task, but the Buckeyes seemed outmatched as they were doubled up by the Terrapins 18-9.

Freshman midfielder Sage Darling recorded three goals on four shots to lead the squad, but Maryland's defense really showed in the assists column. Despite scoring nine goals, only two were assisted on for Ohio State.

Baseball/Softball

No. 21 Ohio State softball took part in a doubleheader Wednesday before a weekend series with Indiana and finished the week with a 3-2 mark.

On Wednesday, the Bucks dropped their first game against Penn State 10-7 before battling hard for a 2-1 win in game two. Over the weekend, the team split the first two games of a three-game series with the Indiana Hoosiers before winning the decisive series finale Sunday.

Over the weekend, the Bucks' bats came to life. Over the weekend, the team mashed six home runs, including five on Sunday to outscore the Hoosiers 11-5 in the series. In fact, their showing on Sunday (eight runs) outpaced Indiana for the entire weekend.

Senior Alex Bayne led the offensive charge with two home runs of her own Sunday. The team now sits at 26-11 on the season and 10-4 in conference play.

The baseball team couldn't quite keep pace with softball, as they went 1-4 in five games this week and were outscored 26-19. 13 of the team's 19 runs on the week came in their Sunday win over Michigan State.

In their lone win, three Buckeyes went yard, including leadoff man Jalen Washington (4), sophomore slugger Brady Cherry (5) and senior outfielder Shea Murray with his first of the year.

Other Events

Junior Alexis Mattern of women's gymnastics posted a 39.200 at NCAA Championships in St. Louis, placing her at 15th in the country.

Women's golf looked impressive en route to a tie for third in a field of 12 at the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational. Sophomore Jaclyn Lee and redshirt junior Rio Watanabe tied for fifth as individuals.

At the Boilermaker Invitational, men's golf finished fifth in a field of 15. Sophomore Daniel Wetterich led the squad with a ninth-place finish, tying with two other individuals.

Upcoming

April 18

  • Softball @ Pittsburgh

April 19

  • Baseball vs. Northern Kentucky
  • Men's Volleyball vs. Ball State (MIVA Conference Semifinals, Columbus)

April 20

  • Women's Volleyball vs. Miami (OH)

April 21

  • Men's Gymnastics, NCAA Qualifier (West Point, N.Y.)
  • Women's Tennis vs. Indiana
  • Softball @ Michigan State
  • Baseball vs. UNC Greensboro
  • Men's Tennis @ Northwestern
  • Men's Soccer vs. Mount Vernon Nazarene
  • Women's Golf, Big Ten Championships (Cincinnati)
  • Track & Field, Jesse Owens Classic (Columbus

April 22

  • Field Hockey vs. Kent State
  • Women's Lacrosse vs. Johns Hopkins
  • Women's Soccer @ Pittsburgh
  • Softball @ Michigan State
  • Field Hockey vs. Miami (OH)
  • Men's Lacrosse vs. Maryland
  • Baseball vs. UNC Greensboro
  • Men's Gymnastics, NCAA Qualifier (West Point, N.Y.)
  • Women's Golf, Big Ten Championships (Cincinnati)
  • Track & Field, Jesse Owens Classic (Columbus)
  • Men's Golf, Robert Kepler Intercollegiate (Columbus)
  • Women's Rowing, Clemson Invite (Clemson, S.C.)

April 23

  • Women's Tennis vs. Purdue
  • Softball @ Michigan State
  • Baseball vs. UNC Greensboro
  • Men's Golf, Robert Kepler Intercollegiate (Columbus)
  • Men's Tennis @ Illinois
  • Women's Golf, Big Ten Championships (Cincinnati)
  • Women's Rowing, Clemson Invite (Clemson S.C.)
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