Ohio State Men’s Tennis To Play For National Championship

The No. 2 Ohio State men’s tennis team crushed No. 4 Texas, 4-0 to advance to the finals of the ITA National Indoor Team Championship.

The Buckeyes will face Wake Forest on Monday for the title.

OSU and UT both entered Sunday’s semifinals with perfect 11-0 records, but it quickly turned into a landslide.

The first team to win a total of four singles matches or three singles matches plus the doubles point wins. The Bucks took two of three doubles matches to win the doubles point and start with a 1-0 lead.

Then, OSU’s JJ Wolf beat Texas’ Christian Sigsgaard in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.

The Buckeyes’ Hunter Tubert took down Chih Chi Huang 6-2, 7-6 (7-3). And John McNally upset UT’s Yuya Ito, 7-5, 6-3 to give the Bucks a 4-0 victory.

Now, they will roll into Monday’s championship match on a serious winning streak. The Bucks swept Tulane, 4-0, in Friday’s first round, then swept Virginia, 4-0 in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Wake Forest earned its spot in the finals with a 4-2 win over North Carolina.

The showdown with Wake is a rematch of last year’s NCAA championship match. The Demon Deacons won that, 4-2.

OSU last won the ITA National Indoor Team Championship in 2014.

The full match report from Ohio State is below.

CHICAGO, Ill. – The Ohio State men’s tennis team has advanced to the finals of the ITA National Indoor Team Championship after defeating No. 4/6 Texas 4-0 on Sunday afternoon.

Coming into the match, the teams both held records of 11-0 and a combined seven wins over ranked opponents. The Longhorns and Buckeyes were part of a select group still undefeated in 2019.

Ohio State took the lead 1-0 through doubles play, but the Buckeyes were tested. A thrilling performance from John McNally and Hunter Tubert was the clutch play Ohio State needed to clinch the first point. In the early goings, Texas looked poised to take the point, leading two of the matches. Thanks to a comeback effort from Alex Kobelt and Kyle Seelig, the Buckeyes took the match lead.

What is becoming a reoccurring theme for the Buckeyes as of late is the performance and level of play being superb in singles following the doubles matches. JJ Wolf was the first to finish, defeating No. 6 Christian Sigsgaard in two sets and grew stronger as the match progressed. Following Wolf was Hunter Tubert, who has been  dominant all season for Ohio State. Sealing the victory for the Buckeyes was John McNally, who defeated Yuya Ito 7-5, 6-3.

Ohio State will face Wake Forrest in the final on Monday at noon. The Buckeyes last reached the final of the ITA National Indoor Championship in 2017 when they were defeated  4-1 by Virginia. In 2014, Ohio State was victorious in the final over USC, 4-1. The Buckeyes last faced Wake Forrest in last year’s NCAA title match. Ohio State fell short 4-2 that day on Wake Forest’s home court, and will seek revenge on Monday. JJ Wolf will look to even the score with Petros Chrysochos, who defeated Wolf in the national title last year 6-1, 6-3. Wolf and Chrysochos currently hold the top two positions in the ITA National Rankings.

“Last year was heartbreaking, we came up just short,” said McNally. “We have worked so hard to get back here to have this opportunity. The match is just another opportunity for us to represent our unbelievable university.”

Ohio State will take on Wake Forest at 1:00 pm EST on Monday at the Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago, Ill.

#2 Ohio State 4, #6 Texas 0

Singles competition
1. #2 JJ Wolf (OSU) def. #6 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) 6-4, 6-1
2. #62 John McNally (OSU) def. #14 Yuya Ito (UT) 7-5, 6-3
3. #12 Kyle Seelig (OSU) vs. #91 Leonardo Telles (UT) 7-5, 5-2, unfinished
4. Martin Joyce (OSU) vs. Harrison Scott (UT) 6-4, 3-6, 3-0, unfinished
5. #86 Alex Kobelt (OSU) vs. Colin Markes (UT) 6-7 (6-8), 4-5, unfinished
6. Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. Chih Chi Huang (UT) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)

Doubles competition
1. #13 Harrison Scott/Christian Sigsgaard (UT) def. JJ Wolf/Martin Joyce (OSU) 6-3
2. Alex Kobelt/Kyle Seelig (OSU) def. Colin Markes/Leonardo Telles (UT) 6-2
3. Hunter Tubert/John McNally (OSU) def. Yuya Ito/Chih Chi Huang (UT) 7-6 (7-1)

Match Notes:
Texas 11-1; National ranking #6
Ohio State 12-0; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,6,2)
ITA Indoor Team National Championship