Buckeyes have already taken home plenty of hardware this athletic season. The synchronized swimming team won its 30th national championship in 40 seasons, the men's volleyball team won its second-straight NCAA title and Kyle Snyder won his second-straight individual NCAA title.
It's been a spectacular season to be a Buckeye, but the Buckeyes aren't done yet. A few more national titles could still be on the way as three Ohio State teams are in the midst of deep postseason runs and a pair of players are at the top of the individual rankings.
Men's Lacrosse
The Ohio State men's lacrosse team played one of the most grueling regular-season schedules in the country this season and the experience seems to be paying dividends in the NCAA Tournament.
The Buckeyes had played 10 of their 17 games leading up to the NCAA Tournament against top-16 teams including two games against top-ranked Maryland. Ohio State emerged from that daunting slate with just four losses — two of which were by one point — and were given the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
Via Ohio State Athletics.
After wins against Loyola and Duke in the first two rounds, the Buckeyes are in the Final Four for the first time in program history and have good odds to win the whole thing. Of the five other teams remaining in the tournament, Ohio State beat three of them during the regular season. If Maryland and Towson win on Sunday, the Buckeyes will be a combined 3-1 against the other Final Four teams this season.
Ohio State plays the winner of Sunday's Towson vs. Syracuse game next Saturday and with a win, will face either top-seeded Maryland, No. 5 seed Denver or No. 8 seed Albany in the national championship game on Monday night.
Men's Tennis
The Ohio State men's tennis team punched its ticket to the NCAA semifinals on Saturday night when they topped No. 6 seed TCU 4-3 in a thriller. The Buckeyes will now play No. 2 seed Virginia on Monday with a trip to the title match on the line.
This is what advancing to the semis feels like #Hugo pic.twitter.com/48QcAcN22T
— Ohio State M Tennis (@OhioState_MTEN) May 20, 2017
The Buckeyes have been nothing short of dominant all season. Ohio State is 33-3 on the season and all three losses coming against top-12 teams. The Buckeyes went undefeated during Big Ten Play, clinching their 12th-straight conference title, and went on to win the Big Ten Tournament Title for the 10th time in 12 years.
They didn't have that sort of success without a talented roster. The team is led by the highest-ranked player remaining in the tournament in No. 2-ranked Mikael Torpegaard and has two more players ranked in the top 50: Hugo Di Feo (No. 9) and J.J. Wolf (No. 46). The Buckeyes also have two top-30 doubles teams with Torpegaard and Herkko Pollanen ranked No. 16 and Di Feo and Martin Joyce ranked No. 30.
Still, Monday's match against Virginia will be no cake walk. The Cavaliers were one of the three teams to beat Ohio State during the regular season, and they didn't just beat the Buckeyes, they swept them 4-0. If Ohio State can get past Virginia though, the Buckeyes would be the lowest seed remaining in the Tournament and would likely be a favorite over either North Carolina or Georgia in the championship match.
Women's Tennis
The Ohio State women's tennis team is looking to become the third Buckeye team to punch its ticket to the final four in two days.
No. 3 seed Ohio State faces No. 6 seed Texas Tech in the NCAA quarterfinals on Sunday at noon with a chance to punch its ticket to the semifinals for the first time in program history. This is the second-time in program history, and the second time in as many years that the Buckeyes have made it to the quarterfinals.
Ohio State is 31-2 on the season with both losses coming to the top two teams in the Tournament — No. 1 seed Florida and No. 2 seed North Carolina. But they Buckeyes aren't just winning, they're dominating. Of their 31 wins, 22 have been sweeps including the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State has won 143 of 161 dual match sets on the season, which is an .888 win percentage.
The Buckeyes have a loaded roster led by the nation's top player in Francesca Di Lorenzo. She's joined by four other ranked players — Anna Sanford, Miho Kowase, Gabriella De Santis and Sandy Niehaus. Di Lorenzo, Kowase and Niehaus are a combined 99-7 on the season and 23-3 against ranked opponents.
Ohio State has had little trouble thus far in the tournament, winning 4-0, 4-0 and 4-1 in their first three matches, but there are plenty of obstacles ahead. If the Buckeyes can get past No. 6 seed Texas Tech, they'll likely have to beat both team that beat them during the regular season — North Carolina and Florida — to earn the NCAA crown.
Mikael Torpegaard
A year after a runner-up finish at the NCAA Singles Championships, Mikael Topregaard is ready for another shot at an individual national title.
Torpegaard has spent the entire season ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation and is 21-4 on the year against ranked opponents. All four of Torpegaard's losses have come against top-10 opponents with three of them coming against top-five players.
He'll likely be a top-two or three seed entering next week's singles championships and a favorite to take home the hardware.
Francesca Di Lorenzo
In her second year at Ohio State, Francesca Di Lorenzo is already the best player in program history.
She's the only Buckeye ever to win an ITA national championship (she's won three of them) and is the only Ohio State player ever to earn the ITA No. 1 ranking (she spent all of 2017 ranked No. 1).
This season, Di Lorenzo has lost just once in her 41 matches this season, falling to North Carolina's Hayley Carter, who is the nation's No. 2 ranked player. She's also 17-1 on the season against ranked opponents.
Di Lorenzo will look to add to her Buckeye legacy with a championship at the NCAA Singles Championship next week where she will be the top seed and the favorite.
