It may have been a little harder than anyone expected, but the Ohio State men’s tennis team survived a game Columbia squad 4-2 to advance to the NCAA semifinals on Thursday.
The Buckeyes started things off right by winning the doubles point to go ahead 1-0 when JJ Tracy and Robert Cash took care of business 6-4. JJ Tracy won easily in singles, 6-3, 6-0 to give OSU a 2-0 lead, but then things got interesting.
Justin Boulais lost the No. 1 match to allow Columbia to claw back to 2-1, while other Ohio State singles matches began to look bleak. Alex Bernard, Cash, and Jack Anthrop all fell in their first sets and had to battle back. Cannon Kingsley was able to get a win to put the Buckeyes up 3-1, but it was only the ability to comeback by Cash and Bernard that secured a 4-2 win for Ohio State.
BUCKEYES WIN! @OhioStateMTEN | #NCAATennis pic.twitter.com/R7nqj3kt9t
— NCAA Tennis (@NCAATennis) May 16, 2024
With the win, the Buckeyes ran their overall record to 34-1 and will now take on No. 4 TCU in the semifinals in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday at Noon. OSU was able to squeeze by the Horned Frogs earlier this year in the ITA Indoor championship game and will be looking to try and repeat the feat outdoors.
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