Ohio State men’s tennis came just one match short of winning the program’s first national title on Sunday, as the third-seeded Buckeyes suffered a 4-0 sweep by No. 5 Virginia in the national championship at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
The Cavaliers won the doubles point to start things off, with Ohio State’s Robert Cash and Justin Boulais falling 6-3 to Inaki Montes and William Woodall at first doubles and Andrew Lutschaunig and James Trotter suffering a 6-2 loss to Chris Rodesch and Jeffrey von der Schulenberg at second doubles.
Cannon Kingsley and JJ Tracy did pick up a 6-3 win at third doubles for the Buckeyes, but Ohio State still fell down 1-0 to begin the match. Virginia then won four of the first six sets in singles play, with Ryan Goetz, Rodesch, Montes and Schulenberg all taking their opening sets, while Ohio State saw Jack Anthrop and Alexander Bernard take their first sets.
While Anthrop and Bernard provided some hope, Ohio State’s chances of a national title grew slim after Schulenberg picked up a 6-2, 6-1 win over Tracy and Rodesch won 6-4, 6-2 over Boulais. Bernard then lost his second set, and Virginia was able to clinch the title with Montes earning a 6-4, 6-2 win over Kinglsey.
The Buckeyes had previously defeated the Cavaliers twice during the regular season, but Ohio State was unable to complete the sweep of Virginia to win the national title. This was Ohio State’s third shot at a national championship under head coach Ty Tucker, as the Buckeyes previously fell in the national title game to USC in 2009 and to Wake Forest in 2018.
Ohio State ends the season with a 34-3 record and a 9-0 mark in conference play. Entering Sunday’s match against Virginia, the Buckeyes had been on a 19-match winning streak.
