Many of Ohio State’s student-athletes have seen their seasons conclude, but others are just getting started. While their classmates prepare for final exams and projects, some premier Buckeye student-athletes continue to compete at the highest level.
The men’s tennis team cruised through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, but the women’s team faltered. The softball team shut down the Hawkeyes, while the baseball team were on the wrong end of a Big Ten sweep.
What follows are brief recaps from the past week of events for Ohio State student-athletes in Olympic sports with links to the press releases.
Men’s Tennis
The No. 1 Ohio State men’s tennis team defeated Cleveland State, 4-0, in the opening round of the NCAA tournament on May 3.
The doubles matches on courts one and two both went to a 6-6 tiebreaker. JJ Wolf and Martin Joyce were defeated in the tiebreaker 6-8.
Kyle Seelig and Alex Kobelt faced the pressure of settling the tie and determining the doubles point. After trailing 0-2 and 2-4, Seelig and Kobelt surged back to win the set and the match 7-6(7).
After winning the doubles point, Ohio State took care of business in its singles matches to defeat the Vikings.
The No. 1 Buckeyes knocked off Vanderbilt, 4-0, in the second round of the NCAA tournament on May 4.
John McNally and Hunter Tubert turned in big performances to give the Buckeyes an advantage early. Seelig and Kobelt clinched the doubles point for the Buckeyes, winning 6-3.
Once again, Ohio State controlled singles play and defeated the No. 35 Commodores with ease.
With the second-round victory, Ohio State advances to the NCAA Regional, where the Buckeyes will face No. 16 Columbia. Ohio State will host the NCAA Regional matchup at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 11.
Women’s Tennis
The No. 25 Ohio State women’s tennis team lost to No. 41 Georgia Tech, 4-3, in a hard-fought NCAA Tournament first-round match May 3 in Nashville, Tenn.
The Buckeyes claimed the doubles point, with redshirt sophomore Shiori Fukuda and freshman Kolie Allen winning on court one and redshirt junior Danielle Wolf and freshman Isabelle Boulais prevailing on court two.
Fukuda extended the Ohio State lead to 2-0 when singles play opened, but Georgia Tech won the next three matches to take a 3-2 lead.
The two remaining courts were in a third set to decide the match, determining who would advance. On court five, Ohio State sophomore Luna Dormet prevailed, tying the team score at 3-3.
On court two, Allen came back from a 1-5 deficit in the third set to tie the match, 5-5, before breaking ahead, 6-5. Nami Otsuka of Georgia Tech answered with a break of her own to force a tiebreak, and then pulled away for a 7-4 victory, giving the Yellow Jackets the singles match and the team win.
Ohio State concluded the season 19-7 overall and 8-3 in the Big Ten, while the No. 41 Yellow Jackets advanced to the second round, improving to 13-12 overall and 7-7 in the ACC.
Baseball
The Ohio State baseball team dropped an 18-inning affair, 5-4, in the series opener against Minnesota at Siebert Field on May 4.
The Buckeyes were just three outs away from the win, but the Golden Gophers forced extra innings with a game-tying single in the bottom of the ninth.
The next eight innings were scoreless until Minnesota loaded the bases in the bottom of the 18th against right-handed reliever Will Pfennig, who was in his fourth inning of relief.
Minnesota’s Gabe Knowles delivered a walk-off single up the middle to end the marathon. Pfennig received the loss to drop to 0-3, pitching 3 1/3 innings and allowing one run on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Patrick Fredrickson earned the win for the Golden Gophers after tossing two scoreless innings of relief with one strikeout.
Ohio State left-handed reliever Andrew Magno went seven innings for the Buckeyes in relief, surrendering one run on four hits and eight walks (three intentional) and eight strikeouts.
Minnesota left 27 stranded on base, while Ohio State left nine.
“You play 18 innings and play a five-hour plus ball game, you’re kind of waiting for something to happen,” head coach Greg Beals said. “I liked the fight we had and getting out of some bases-loaded jams. We created some opportunities for them with some free bases, but it’s a tough loss. Our guys spilled it today and I’m proud of that. We are going to get a good night sleep and come back here tomorrow.”
The Buckeyes dropped a doubleheader against Minnesota at Siebert Field on May 5. The Golden Gophers won game one, 11-2, and took game two, 3-2.
With the series sweep, Minnesota improved to 21-23 overall and 11-7 in Big Ten action, while the Buckeyes fell to 24-23 overall and 7-11 in conference play.
The Golden Gophers limited the Buckeyes to three hits as Sam Thoresen tossed six innings and only gave up one hit while striking out six. Frederickson worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, helping Minnesota win 11-2.
The Gopher bats totaled seven extra-base hits in the win.
Ohio State left-handed starting pitcher Griffan Smith received the loss in game two despite a solid start as the Buckeyes fell, 3-2.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Minnesota’s Riley Smith hit a blooper that fell just inside the right field line to score the eventual game-winning run. Smith struck out eight and allowed five hits and only on walk across eight innings.
Redshirt sophomore Scottie Seymour got the nod from Beals to start at second base in game two and took advantage, smacking a two-run double off Minnesota starting pitcher Joshua Culliver to give Ohio State a 2-1 lead.
The Golden Gophers hit their fifth homer of the doubleheader in the bottom of the second with a solo shot beyond the fence in left field by Jordan Kozicky to tie the game, 2-2.
Seymour made his first start of his career at second base in game two, and recorded his first career double.
Sophomore catcher Dillon Dingler extended his reached-base streak to 23 games, while Pohl has reached base in 15 straight outings.
Ohio State junior right fielder Dominic Canzone extended his reached-base streak to 43 consecutive games with a leadoff single in game two.
Softball
The Ohio State softball team opened its three-game series against Iowa with a 1-0 loss on May 3 at Bob Pearl Field.
The Buckeyes held off the Hawkeyes for most of the matchup, allowing just two hits through the first five innings. Iowa broke the stalemate in the bottom of the sixth inning on a solo home run by Miranda Schulte.
Senior right-handed starting pitcher Morgan Ray (16-7) was charged with the loss after six innings of work. She surrendered the one run on three hits while striking out six.
Ohio State softball bounced back with a 10-0 run-rule win against Iowa on May 4.
Right-handed starting pitcher Lauren Rice earned her first shutout victory of the year in win No. 16. She allowed just two hits and struck out one batter in four innings. Kat Duvall faced three Hawkeyes in the fifth inning and upheld the shutout.
The win marked the ninth run-rule victory of the season for the Scarlet and Gray. Lilli Piper hit 2 for 3 with one walk, two RBI and three runs scored.
Emily Clark scored two runs and drove in three, while Kaitlyn Coffman added four RBI on two hits, including a grand slam. Ashley Prange had one hit, one run and one RBI.
The Ohio State softball team capped off its regular season with a 5-0 shutout win at Iowa on May 5.
Ray tossed her 15th complete game of the season on her way to win No. 17, allowing four hits and striking out eight for her seventh shutout. It was the team’s 13th shutout on the year.
Clark reached base for the 20th consecutive game. Piper is on a nine-game hitting streak and Prange reached base in 11 straight outings.
The Buckeyes’ pitching and defense was superb against the Hawkeyes. Despite losing the series opener, Ohio State posted a 0.39 ERA and held Iowa to a .145 batting average with one run scored across 19 innings of error-free softball.
With the win, the Buckeyes improved to 34-15 overall and 17-6 in the Big Ten, while the Hawkeyes fell to 19-31 and 5-18 in conference action.
Rowing
The Ohio State rowing team concluded the regular season with a regatta against Texas and Indiana on the Scioto River on May 3.
The First Novice Eight earned the Buckeyes a win, crossing the finish line more than two seconds ahead of Indiana and well ahead of the Buckeyes’ Second Novice Eight.
In the first race of the day, the First Varsity Eight of Anjali Fernandes, Lexie Nothdurft, Ida Kruse, Leonie Heuer, Ida Petersen, Jessy Vermeer, Sierra Cydrus, Sierra Tiede and Grace Libben finished with a time of 5:59.78.
Next up was the Second Varsity Eight, crossing the finish with a time of 6:08.21. The boat was comprised of Sophie Blair, Mane Bravo Alvez, Rachel DeWitte, Meg Cymanski, Claire Cannon, Michaela Nordhaus, Ally Hatton, Michayla Binkley and Maddie Perrett.
The First Varsity Four of Samantha Morrison, Kailey Boomer, Maddie Frendberg, Kendell Massier and Julia Miklasevich raced a time of 6:46.67, just 1.77 seconds behind the Longhorns.
