The last time Oklahoma came into Columbus they broke Ohio State’s 200-match home court winning streak but on Sunday afternoon the only thing they’d break would be a few strings. Oklahoma looked poised to take the early lead after picking up a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles but they’d let break leads slip away on the other two courts. Oklahoma’s Jochen Bertsch and Mason Bridegan jumped out to 3-1 lead at No. 3 but Ohio State’s Hunter Tubert and Matt Mendez would take the next five games to win it 6-3. Oklahoma’s Adrian Oetzbach and Alex Ghilea broke for a 3-2 lead at No. 2 and they’d extend the lead to 5-3 but Ohio State’s Hugo Di Feo and Martin Joyce would hold from 40/15, break from 15/40, and hold from 40/15 to go in front 6-5. Oklahoma held to force a deciding tiebreak and they’d take the early mini-break lead at 1-0 but Ohio State rattled off the next four to go up 4-1. Oetzbach won both points on his serve to trim the deficit to 4-3 but Joyce took the next two on his serve to make it 6-3. Ohio State closed it out on the next point with Joyce hitting a volley winner and the Buckeyes had the 1-0 lead. 

Oklahoma was playing its third match in a row without its top singles player Andrew Harris (back) so everyone slid up a spot in the lineup. Ohio State took five opening sets in singles with Oklahoma’s lone set coming from Alex Ghilea at No. 2. Ohio State sophomore Martin Joyce made it 2-0 with a straight set win over Arnaud Restifo at No. 6. The match started off with an exchange of breaks and then Joyce broke again a few games later for 4-2 and he’d end up taking the set 6-3. Joyce broke Restifo to start the second set and then he broke him again to go up 3-0. After Joyce held for 4-0, Restifo held and then broke for 4-2 but Joyce broke back and served it out from 40/15 to take it 6-3, 6-2.

Ohio State redshirt freshman Kyle Seelig extended the lead to 3-0 with a straight set win over Jochen Bertsch at No. 5. Seelig breezed through the first set taking it 6-1 and then about the only pothole he hit came in the second set when he got broke serving for the match up 5-2. After Bertsch held for 5-4, Seelig managed to close it out on the no-ad point with a service winner to win it 6-1, 6-4.

Mikael Torpegaard and Herkko Pollanen were both nearing the finish line and it was now just a matter of who would finish first. Torpegaard jumped out to a 3-1 first set lead against Spencer Papa at No. 1 but Papa would take the next three to go up 4-3. The set would end up in a tiebreak and Papa had a set point on his serve at 6-5 but he netted a forehand to even it at 6-all. Papa double faulted to go down 7-6 and then Torpegaard closed out the tiebreak with a forehand winner to take it 8-6. Torpegaard opened up a 5-0 lead in the second set and after a Papa hold he’d serve it out at love to clinch the match with a 7-6, 6-1 win. 

The other matches were abandoned with Pollanen serving up 7-5, 5-2 (30/15) at No. 4, Ghilea serving up 7-6, 2-3 at No. 2, and Di Feo serving down 1-0 in the third at No. 3. 

Highlights from the win today over No. 4 Oklahoma #GoBucks https://t.co/Cn1m7GPl3l

— Ohio State M Tennis (@OhioState_MTEN) March 5, 2017

#1 Ohio State 4, #4 Oklahoma 0
Mar 05, 2017 at Columbus, Ohio (OSU Varsity Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #1 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #24 Spencer Papa (OU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
2. #74 Alex Ghilea (OU) vs. JJ Wolf (OSU) 7-6 (4), *2-3, unfinished
3. #3 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) vs. #65 Florin Bragusi (OU) 6-2, 3-6, *0-1, unfinished
4. #56 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) vs. Adrian Oetzbach (OU) 7-5, 5-2, unfinished
5. Kyle Seelig (OSU) def. Jochen Bertsch (OU) 6-1, 6-4
6. #88 Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Arnaud Restifo (OU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Florin Bragusi/Spencer Papa (OU) def. #20 Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 6-2
2. #56 Hugo Di Feo/Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Adrian Oetzbach/Alex Ghilea (OU) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Hunter Tubert/Matt Mendez (OSU) def. Jochen Bertsch/Mason Bridegan (OU) 6-3
Match Notes
Oklahoma 10-3; National ranking #4
Ohio State 16-1; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,5,1)
Official: Marcus Lee T-2:15 A-449

Post-Match Quotes from Ohio State’s recap
“Oklahoma is a great team and I’m just so proud of our guys with the way they fought,” said Director of Tennis Ty Tucker. “They were obviously missing one of their top guys in Andrew Harris which forced them to mix up their doubles lineup but our guys were able to fight and come up with that doubles point which was so critical in a match like this.”

“I told Martin that it was coming down to us and that we had to have these next couple of points,” Di Feo said. “At 4-5, we were fortunate that he missed an overhead and I was somehow able to get it back over and get back into the point. Again, they were missing one of their top players in (Andrew) Harris but they are still a really good team. I think we came out and took advantage the way we needed to get a good win.”

“Our fans were tremendous today and I could tell our guys fed a little off their enthusiasm,” said Tucker. Oklahoma coming to town brings out a big crowd and we obviously wanted to beat those guys. They got us in here the last time we played and we knew it was going to be another tough match.”

“Our guys have been through a tough four weeks and they have showed up every match,” Tucker continued. “We’re going to have the next week to get a little rest but I wish I could enjoy it because we have a trip to Texas coming up to face two more really good teams in Texas and Texas A&M.”

Post-Match Quotes from Oklahoma’s recap
“Today was a tough fight,” OU head coach Nick Crowell said. “We had chances to win doubles. We had a big win at No. 1 and had breaks at No. 2 and 3. Our energy was great and I liked how we came out taking it to the Buckeyes early.”

“The singles hinged on just a few points at the end of the first sets,” Crowell said. “We won some of them, but they won more. We’ll continue to grow as a team and today will make us stronger going forward.”

“We are playing some of the best competition in the country every week, and that will continue to make us stronger as we head into the second half of the season,” Crowell added.

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Cornell came into Sunday’s match at Memphis with a school-record ranking of No. 18 but Memphis wasn’t phased and would pull out a thrilling 4-3 win. Memphis took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 and then the Tigers took four opening sets in singles. Memphis junior Andrew Watson made it 2-0 with a straight set win at No. 2 but Cornell freshman Pietro Rimondini answered with a straight set win at No. 5. Memphis junior Felix Rauch made it 3-1 with a straight set win at No. 6 but Cornell senior Chris Vrabel completed his comeback with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 4 to make it 3-2. 

It looked like Memphis junior Ryan Peniston would clinch the match in straight sets when he had three match points at 15/40 on David Volfson’s 3-6, 4-5 service game but the Cornell sophomore fought off all three to hold for 5-5. Volfson then broke for 6-5 and held for 7-5 to get the split and force a third set. 

Just as the third set got underway in the Peniston/Volfson match, Cornell would tie it at 3-3 as senior Colin Sinclair broke Kai Lemke to win 6-4, 7-5 at No. 3. There were three consecutive holds to start the third set at No. 1 before Peniston broke for 3-1 and then he’d go on to win the next three games to close out Volfson 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

Post-Match Quotes from Memphis’s recap
“Andrew and Kai did a great job to come back from a break down at one,” Head Coach Paul Goebel said. “Sometimes, all of the attention gets on that final match that decides it, but winning the doubles point was big today.”

“You know, Ryan is just so even-keeled,” Goebel said. “We always talk about if you’re not going to win it, just keep hitting your shots, and he did that. (Volfson) earned that second set and played really well with his back against the wall. That’s what good teams do is even though the score doesn’t look good, they’re never going to give it to you. So Ryan got re-focused at the beginning of the third set, realizing he was going to have to go work another whole set, and I was really proud that he was able to battle through.”

“That’s been our philosophy this season, trying to get everyone to play as hard as they can at each match,” Goebel said. “You never know who is going to be the one who clinches the match, but we have a bunch of guys that play well as a team and when you have that, you have confidence in those situations.”

Texas A&M won its sixth straight match, and fourth straight on the road, with a 5-2 win at No. 19 South Carolina. Texas A&M took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 and then the teams split first sets in singles. South Carolina’s Andrew Schafer tied the match at 1-1 with a straight set win at No. 3 but Texas A&M went ahead 3-1 with straight set wins from Arthur Rinderknech and Jordi Arconada at No. 1 and No. 4.

South Carolina’s Harrison O’Keefe made it 3-2 with a three set win over AJ Catanzariti at No. 2. Catanzariti went up a break at 4-3 in the third but O’Keefe broke back at love, held at love, and then came back from 40/15 down to break on the no-ad point to win 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Texas A&M’s two freshmen starters would get it done again as Valentin Vacherot and Hady Habib finished within about 5 seconds of each other to close out the 5-2 win. Vacherot broke South Carolina’s Alex Fennell from 30/40 to go ahead 5-3 in the third and then he served it out from 40/30 to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Habib’s opponent Thomas Mayronne served for the second set but Habib broke on the no-ad point to even it at 5-all. In the tiebreak Habib led the whole way and he closed it out 7-5.

#27 Texas A&M 5, #19 South Carolina 2
Mar 05, 2017 at Columbia, SC (Carolina Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #16 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #43 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) 6-3, 6-4
2. Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
3. Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Yancy Dennis (SC) 7-5, 6-4
5. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Alex Fennell (SC) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #105 Thomas Mayronne (SC) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles competition
1. Arthur Rinderknech/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Alex Fennell/Sam Swank (SC) 6-2
2. Yancy Dennis/Harrison O’Keefe (SC) def. Jordi Arconada/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-3
3. Aleksandre Bakshi/Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Gabriel Friedrich/Andrew Schafer (SC) 7-5
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 7-3, 2-0; National ranking #27
South Carolina 11-3, 1-1; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1 ,3); Singles (3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 6)
T-2:41

Post-Match Quotes from A&M’s recap
“This was a really good team win for us,” Texas A&M men’s tennis coach Steve Denton said. “South Carolina was very tough today and I thought our guys answered every challenge. Give South Carolina credit, they jumped on us early in some singles matches but our guys responded again very well and raised their level in the important moments. We are very proud of them.”

“Doubles was a big one for us coming from behind to win the point,” Denton added. “I thought Hady [Habib] and Aleksandre [Bakshi] were very good down the stretch.”

“We told the team before the match to be ready for a big test, South Carolina would be a big challenge on the road especially after Friday night’s match against Florida,” Denton said.” We are happy to get back to work and prepare for another big challenge at home this week against Vanderbilt and Kentucky. As I said Friday, we just have to keep working very hard and keep improving.”

Wichita State won the Pacific Mountain Invitational in Stockton, California, with a 4-3 win over Fresno State. The match was tied at 3-3 after singles so the doubles point decided the match and Wichita State pulled it out with a pair of 6-2 wins. Wichita State also defeated No. 39 Cal Poly 4-3 earlier in the day in a match that went the same way with doubles played after singles to decide the match. Wichita State’s recap has some more of the details. 

Other Sunday Results:

• #8 Texas def. #34 Rice 6-1 – Horns took the doubles point and picked up three straight set wins before winning the final two in a third set supertiebreak.
• #12 Georgia Tech def. #33 Florida State 5-2 – Noles took the doubles point but the Jackets took the next four matches with Cole Fiegel clinching 7-5, 6-4 at No. 5
• #13 Florida def. LSU 4-3 – surprising how close the match was considering that Florida hammered them 4-0 during the Kick-Off Weekend. Florida freshman Johannes Ingildsen clinched the match with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win at No. 4. 
• #14 Mississippi State def. #49 Auburn 4-2 – Auburn took the doubles point and three first sets but MSU rallied back to win with Strahinja Rakic clinching 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 at No. 2 – MSU’s Mate Cutura was serving for the match at No. 3 up 5-2 in the third at the time of the clinch. 
• #16 Northwestern def. Texas Tech 4-2 – T-Tech jumped out to a 2-0 lead but the Big Cats came back to win with Ben Vandixhorn clinching 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 4. 
• #21 Oregon def. UC Santa Barbara 4-3 – Ducks rebounded from losing the doubles point with Jayson Amos winning the decider 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 at No. 4
• #30 Vanderbilt def. #38 Tennessee 4-3 – Vandy freshman Billy Rowe came back from a 6-4, *5-4 down to win the decider 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. 
• #31 Wisconsin def. Iowa 5-2 – Badgers took the doubles point and Lamar Remy clinched at No. 1 with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win. 
• #32 Minnesota def. Drake 4-2 – Gophers dropped the doubles point but came back strong in singles with Marino Alpeza clinching at No. 6 with a 7-6, 6-4 win 
• #37 Indiana def. Purdue 4-3 – Boilers led 2-0 but Indiana won the next four matches with Zac Brodney clinching with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win at No. 6
• #45 Yale def. Brown 5-2 – Bulldogs won the doubles point and picked up straight set wins 1 through 3 plus a three-set win at No. 4
• #48 Central Florida def. Davidson 6-1 – Knights took the doubles point and won five singles matches in straight sets – Chris Barrus clinched at No. 3
• #50 Tulsa def. Tempe 5-2 & Oral Roberts 6-1 – the Temple match came down to a pair of third sets with Tulsa’s Jarod Hing winning 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 at No. 4 and Daniel Santos winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6
• Arkansas def. Alabama 5-2 – Hogs won the doubles point and Johan den Toom put them ahead 4-0 with a straight set win at No. 5
• Marquette def. Utah 4-3 – Sophomore Greg Anderson won the decider 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 at No. 3
• Virginia Tech def. James Madison 7-0 – Hokies won all 12 sets in singles
• Penn def. Denver 7-0 – Quakers won 12 of 14 sets in singles
• Princeton def. Buffalo 6-1 & Bryant 6-1 – Tigers won five of six singles matches in both
• North Florida def. Elon 6-1 – Ospreys won five singles matches in straight sets
• UNC Wilmington def. Michigan State 4-3 – Seahawks dropped the doubles point but picked up three straight set wins and Agustin Savarino clinched the match with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 2. Match was played in Tampa

Will add some more Monday morning..