With football in its offseason and men's basketball down for the count, Ohio State fans have needed the school's Olympic sports to provide successful play worthy of attention.
That's exactly what the Buckeyes' non-revenue programs accomplished this past week, collecting ranked victories and regular-season trophies while racking up several other accolades across seven days.
In this edition of Around the Oval, Eleven Warriors' one-stop shop for coverage of Ohio State's non-revenue programs, we offer rundowns for wrestling, men's lacrosse, baseball and many other teams. Over the weekend, we also covered men's hockey win over Michigan in the Faceoff on the Lake, women's swim and dive's fourth-consecutive Big Ten Championship and women's hockey's first-ever WCHA regular-season title.
Wrestling
In its final regular-season dual competition of 2022-23, Ohio State wrestling claimed a top-five victory on Saturday when the team defeated Cornell, 22-14, at the Spartan Combat Duals in Tampa, Florida.
#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Z4CXETAy36
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) February 18, 2023
The No. 6 Buckeyes won six of 10 matches to beat the No. 4 Big Red in the neutral-site matchup. Ohio State's wrestlers secured the first three bouts of the afternoon, with No. 19 Dylan D’Emilio winning a decision at 141 pounds, No. 3 Sammy Sasso a medical forfeit (over Sal Jones, not top-ranked Yianni Diakomihalis) at 149 and No. 24 Paddy Gallagher a major decision at 157.
With an early 13-0 advantage, Klay Reeves suffered a fall at 165 that allowed Cornell to put five points on the board. Isaac Wilcox, who recently became a black shirt, lost via a takedown in the first period of sudden victory at 174, which cut Ohio State's lead to 13-8 heading into the break.
After the intermission, the Buckeyes saw victories from Gavin Bell at 184, No. 17 Tate Orndorff at 285 and No. 10 Malik Heinselman at 125 that secured the match victory, Ohio State's sixth over a ranked opponent and first against a top-five program.
Up Next
The Buckeyes will have a few weeks off from competition before they travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the Big Ten Championships from March 4-5.
Men's Lacrosse
Ohio State men's lacrosse came from behind to beat North Carolina, 8-5, in front of a sellout crowd of 2,363 at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium on Sunday. It was the team's third consecutive win in their new venue and first over a top-25 program.
BUCKEYES #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/r5WO8ZNcRm
— Ohio State Men's Lacrosse (@OhioStateMLAX) February 19, 2023
The No. 10 Buckeyes trailed the No. 19 Tar Heels, 4-2, at the break but scored five unanswered goals in the second half to take control of the contest and run away with a three-goal victory.
Ohio State and North Carolina's battle showcased defensive dominance in lacrosse. However, the Buckeyes' offense made the difference in the game. Both teams forced 16 turnovers, and the goalies combined to make 25 saves, but back-to-back goals from Kyle Borda in the fourth put Ohio State in front before Jason Knox and Ed Shean provided the final nails in the coffin.
Coach Myers' thoughts after today's win #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/tOJVNFZ6Dk
— Ohio State Men's Lacrosse (@OhioStateMLAX) February 19, 2023
With the win, Ohio State improves to 3-0 in the early season. The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents — Air Force, Cleveland State and North Carolina – by a combined 18 goals, 42-24, and have been led by Jack Myers' 14 points and Shean's 12 points in the first three contests.
Up Next
Ohio State will travel to Naples, Florida, for a neutral-site matchup with the No. 1-ranked Virginia Cavaliers on Feb. 25 at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex.
Baseball
In his first season and first game as head coach of Ohio State baseball, Bill Mosiello and the Buckeyes claimed a 3-0 victory over Connecticut in Venice, Florida, and kicked off the program's 2023 season with a win.
Really nice win to start the Bill Mosiello era as @OhioStateBASE took down a strong @UConnBSB club in shutout fashion, 3-0. Isaiah Coupet threw six shutout frames for the #Buckeyes, tallying nine strikeouts and walking just one.
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) February 18, 2023
Junior pitcher Isaiah Coupet tossed six innings of one-hit baseball and struck out nine batters. His efforts derailed the offense of UConn, a team with a school-record 50-16 record and reached the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament last season. The Buckeyes' offense was powered by senior third baseman Nick Erwin, freshman shortstop Henry Kaczmar and transfer catcher Cole Andrews, who combined for seven of the team's eight hits and drove in all three runs for Ohio State.
“I’m excited for the players,” Bill Mosiello told Press Pros Magazine after the win. "It’s one day, and we’re not going to throw a party over one day, but you could feel their energy, the aggressiveness. We got away from our plan a bit, chasing some pitches, and we had some bad strikeouts. …When we watch the tape, we’ll probably see that those pitches weren’t strikes, anyway. Coupet was just what we expected. He’s been awesome, and I’m super excited for him to get off to a great start.”
Ohio State lost its next two contests against the Huskies. The first was a back-and-forth battle that resulted in a 9-6 defeat, and the second was a blown lead after six innings that ended with an 8-6 win for UConn. The Buckeyes will look to split the series on Monday in the fourth matchup between the teams in as many days.
Up Next
After Ohio State wraps up its series with UConn, the Buckeyes will travel to Phoenix, Arizona, where they will face Grand Canyon (Thursday and Saturday) and Gonzaga (Friday and Sunday) twice each across four days.
Men's Tennis
The No. 1-ranked Ohio State men's tennis team suffered its first loss this weekend at the ITA Indoor National Championships but bounced back with a top-five victory to close out the tournament.
On Friday, the Buckeyes made quick work of Illinois, defeating the Illini, 4-0, to advance to the ITA Quarterfinals, where they faced No. 6 Texas, an opponent they swept in Columbus on Feb. 5. This time, however, it was the Longhorns who came out victorious, as they handed Ohio State a heartbreaking 4-3 loss that handed the team its first defeat sent the Buckeyes to the consolation bracket.
In the consolation, Ohio State never wavered against No. 5 Virginia en route to a 4-0 sweep, marking the second time in as many weeks that the Buckeyes beat the Cavaliers after winning a 4-1 match in Charlottesville on Feb. 11.
This time around, Ohio State was led by No. 75 Robert Cash, who finished the weekend undefeated in singles play, while No. 9 JJ Tracy and Cannon Kingsley both pulled out singles wins to help the Buckeyes clinch the shutout.
Up Next
Ohio State will return home to face Notre Dame at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center next weekend. The Irish are 7-3 and have recent victories over Wisconsin and UIC.
Other News and Notes
- The No. 6 Ohio State women’s tennis team defeated No. 20 Arizona State, 5-2, on Sunday in the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. The Buckeyes took the doubles point and won four singles matches in straight sets against the Sun Devils. With the win, Ohio State improved to 7-2 on the year.
- The No. 10 Ohio State men's volleyball team fell for the first time in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play at No. 13 Loyola Chicago on Saturday. The Ramblers won the match in four sets, 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 25-18).
- The Ohio State women’s lacrosse team lost its first game of 2023 when it fell on the road at No. 20 USC, 18-10, Sunday in Los Angeles, California. The Trojans jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter and led 10-4 at halftime en route to the victory. Ohio State is 3-1 on the year.
- Tickets are now on sale for the Ohio State women’s hockey team’s WCHA postseason tournament quarterfinal games against Bemidji State. The best-of-three series will be played on Feb. 24, 25 and 26 (if necessary) at the OSU Ice Rink in Columbus.
- Ohio State women’s basketball season tickets for the 2023-24 season are now available online as the Buckeyes welcome fans back to Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center. Fans may renew or purchase new season tickets at this time.
