Ohio State football isn’t the only Buckeye sports team that’s off to a strong start this fall.
While the Buckeyes who play on the gridiron tend to garner most of the attention during football season – especially when they’re playing as well as they have so far this year – there are many other Ohio State sports teams who deserve recognition for their strong play so far this year. Of Ohio State’s 12 NCAA sports teams whose competitive seasons have started, nine of them are currently ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams in their respective sports.
With the football Buckeyes having the weekend off, it’s a perfect time to catch up on how the rest of Ohio State’s athletic department has fared this fall.
Women’s volleyball among nation’s best
Fresh off of back-to-back Sweet 16 runs in Jen Flynn Oldenburg’s first two seasons as head coach, Ohio State women’s volleyball is looking like a contender to go even further this season.
The Buckeyes are currently ranked sixth in the country and have already won four matches this season against top-10 teams (at the time of the match). Overall, the Buckeyes have a 10-5 record this season, highlighted by an early September win over Louisville, which was the No. 3 team in the country when it hosted Ohio State and is now ranked second nationally. The Buckeyes’ 6-1 record in Big Ten games has them second in the conference standings behind Nebraska, the only league opponent to beat Ohio State so far this season.
Following a road sweep of 10th-ranked Minnesota on Wednesday, Ohio State has now won its last five matches in a row.
Sights and sounds from last nights block party #GoBucks #Team53 pic.twitter.com/9UmJPlGSQL
— Ohio State Women's Volleyball (@OhioStateWVB) October 13, 2022
Both soccer teams in top 20
Two of Ohio State’s most improved sports teams this fall have been its men’s and women’s soccer squads, which are both ranked in the top 20 nationally.
Ohio State men’s soccer has already surpassed its win total from last season, when it went 6-9-1. This year’s Buckeyes are 7-1-4, most recently earning a 3-1 victory over Michigan, and rank 15th in the country in the United Soccer Coaches poll. They’re currently tied for fourth in the Big Ten with a 2-1-1 record in conference play, though their overall winning percentage is the second-best in the conference behind only Maryland.
The women’s soccer Buckeyes have also matched their win total from a year ago, earning their ninth win of the season with a 7-0 rout of Maryland on Thursday night. After going just 9-9-2 in 2021, this year’s Buckeyes are 9-2-3 with a 4-1-2 record in Big Ten play. They’re unbeaten in their last six games (four wins and two ties) and are currently ranked 20th by United Soccer Coaches.
Both ice hockey teams off to strong starts
As well as the Ohio State football team has played this season, it’s not the highest-ranked sports team on campus right now. While the football Buckeyes are ranked second in the country, Ohio State women’s hockey is No. 1.
That ranking is mostly because of what the Buckeyes accomplished last year, when they won their first-ever national championship, but the defending champs are living up to their top billing so far. With a roster that still features many of its star players from last season, including Patty Kazmaier Award finalist Sophie Jaques, Ohio State women’s hockey has won its first four games of the year by a combined score of 18-9.
Check out this weeks @DCUcreditunion https://t.co/2QgdyNoHQx Division I Womens Poll! pic.twitter.com/3kkoBfkEdA
— USCHO.com (@USCHO) October 10, 2022
Ohio State men’s hockey has also started the season 4-0, including a pair of wins over Wisconsin to start Big Ten play, and the Buckeyes have climbed to 11th in the national rankings with their strong start.
Field hockey on the upswing
Another Ohio State team that’s made noteworthy improvement from last season is field hockey, which has already matched its win total from the last two seasons with seven wins in its first 12 games. The Buckeyes have won their last four games in a row and are currently ranked as the No. 21 team in the NCAA.
Ohio State is just 1-3 in its first four conference games of the year, so the Buckeyes will need to finish strong in the second half of conference play to earn one of the seven berths in the Big Ten Tournament. Those wins won’t come easily, as three of their four remaining conference opponents – Iowa, Northwestern and Michigan – are among five Big Ten teams currently ranked in the top 10. (Update: Ohio State defeated fifth-ranked Iowa on Friday, 2-0, to earn its eighth win of the year.)
Women’s cross country, rifle also ranked
Ohio State’s women’s cross country team is currently ranked 24th in the USTFCCCA rankings after finishing in the top two of three of its first four meets of the season, including a win in the season-opening Mike Baumer Cross Country Classic. Addie Engel earned individual victories in each of the Buckeyes’ first two meets and has won Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors twice already this season.
The men’s cross country team also earned a season-opening win at the Mike Baumer Cross Country Classic, but is currently ranked just 14th in the USTFCCCA rankings for the Great Lakes Region and is not nationally ranked.
Ohio State’s other nationally ranked sports team is the rifle program, which is currently ranked sixth by the CRCA. The Buckeyes fired their highest opening match score in program history (4961) in the season opener against Murray State and improved upon those scores in their second set of matches against No. 1-ranked Alaska Fairbanks, though they lost to both opponents.
The Buckeyes’ pistol team, which won the national championship last season, defeated Army in its season-opening match last weekend. There are no official collegiate rankings for pistol, which is not an NCAA-sanctioned sport.
Moldovan, season-opening win for women highlight golf efforts
Ohio State’s women’s golf team started the season strong with a win in the 17-team Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational. The Buckeyes are currently ranked 33rd in the country and finished seventh and eighth in their last two tournaments.
The men’s golf team, which is ranked 41st in the Golfweek rankings, had its best finish of the season to date with a fourth-place result in its most recent tournament, the Hamptons Intercollegiate. The Buckeyes’ efforts have been led by Maxwell Moldovan, a junior who set Ohio State’s school record earlier this year for career rounds under 70. Moldovan ranks 24th nationally in the individual rankings after earning top-three finishes in each of Ohio State’s last two tournaments.
Baseball, softball prepare for spring with fall ball
Ohio State’s baseball and softball teams won’t begin playing games that actually count until the spring, but both of them are preparing for the season with fall ball competition.
The softball team wrapped up three weeks of fall competition Sunday when it defeated Tiffin and Toledo in the Ohio Collegiate Charity Classic. The Buckeyes also won their previous fall exhibitions against Akron and Ohio Dominican and had a 9-0 lead over Bowling Green before their scheduled doubleheader against the Falcons was rained out.
Ohio State baseball will play its fall ball games this weekend when it hosts Pittsburgh on Friday at 4 p.m. and Cincinnati on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Bill Davis Stadium.
#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/qFEqvNQXXk
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) October 13, 2022
