Ohio State men's tennis is officially the No. 1 team in the nation.
Following a dominant 9-0 start with eight sweeps and two top-25 victories in 2022-23, the Buckeyes checked in as the top-ranked team after receiving nine of 12 first-place votes in the most recent release of the ITA Team Rankings on Wednesday.
New #1 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/cLcoZiXMCC
— Ohio State M Tennis (@OhioStateMTEN) February 8, 2023
Ohio State is led by a veteran cast of players, including redshirt seniors Andrew Lutschaunig and James Trotter, along with seniors Justin Boulais, Robert Cash and Cannon Kingsley. Junior JJ Tracy has also shined for the Buckeyes as the No. 9 singles player in the nation.
In a media availability at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center Tuesday, Ohio State head coach Ty Tucker – the namesake of the Buckeyes' indoor facility – said he has high hopes for this year's team, especially after its 7-0 sweep of No. 23 Texas A&M and 4-0 sweep of No. 6 Texas this past weekend.
When asked how the 2022-23 iteration of the Buckeyes stacks up with previous teams he's led in his 23 seasons as the program's leader, the 15-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and one-time National Coach of the Year said he's not sure quite yet. However, he thinks this year's squad has the potential to make some noise.
"We're early in the season. Every team (we've had) is pretty darn good," Tucker said. "They have good chemistry, and our doubles are solid. Anything can happen down the stretch. In the next 12 matches, we will face seven teams in the top 10 and only one will be in Columbus, add three or four more on neutral sites and then Wake Forest and Virginia this weekend."
Ohio State's battle with No. 9 Wake Forest will occur on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Two days later, the Buckeyes will face No. 5 Virginia in Charlottesville, providing an immediate challenge for Tucker's team to defend it's hold over the No. 1 spot in the rankings.
The following weekend, Ohio State will travel to the ITA Indoor National Championships in Champaign, Illinois, for the neutral-site matchups mentioned above. The Buckeyes previously punched their ticket to the event with sweeps of UCF and Oregon at the UTA Kickoff Weekend in Columbus during the final weekend of January.
Tucker and the Buckeyes are no strangers to the ITA Indoors, as the program will compete in the championships for the 16th time in program history. Ohio State has found tremendous success at the event as of late, hoisting first-place trophies in 2014 and 2019 and, most recently, finishing as runner-ups to TCU in 2022.
Regarding Ohio State's mindset heading into the ITA Indoors this year, Tucker said the team's primary goal will be as it always is: Win the doubles point.
"The doubles point matters," Tucker said. "In college tennis, if you get the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead, then you only have to win three of the six singles matches, which makes life a whole lot easier."
Tucker said Ohio State's season would not be defined by how it finishes at the national tournament this weekend. However, he believes winning a trophy would build significant momentum for the rest of the Buckeyes season – one that will end with the NCAA Championships from May 17-27 at the UTSA campus in Orlando, Florida.
As for Ohio State's chances to win that event when it arrives, Tucker kept his response short and sweet.
"I think we have a shot," Tucker said.
