Men’s Tennis: No. 1 Buckeyes notch third consecutive top-10 victory against No. 10 Kentucky

The Buckeyes cheer on their teammates from the sidelines during the Ohio State-Kentucky match Friday. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Zachary Rilley | For the Lantern

Ohio State senior James Trotter heads to his singles matchup during the Ohio State-Kentucky match Friday. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Zachary Rilley | For the Lantern

Two fans watch over the ongoing matches during the Ohio State-Kentucky match Friday. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Zachary Rilley | For the Lantern

Ohio State junior Robert Cash heads to the bench after his set during the Ohio State-Kentucky match Friday. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Zachary Rilley | For the Lantern

Ohio State senior James Trotter follows through on a serve during the Ohio State-Kentucky match Friday. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Zachary Rilley | For the Lantern

Ohio State juniors Justin Boulais and Cannon Kingsley take a rest between sets during the Ohio State-Kentucky match Friday. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Zachary Rilley | For the Lantern

The Buckeyes high-five each other during the Ohio State-Kentucky match Friday. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Zachary Rilley | For the Lantern

Ohio State junior Justin Boulais throws the ball in the air in preparation for a serve during the Ohio State-Kentucky match Friday. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Zachary Rilley | For the Lantern

Ohio State senior James Trotter and his coach speak with the official about an out of bounds call during the Ohio State-Kentucky match Friday. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Zachary Rilley | For the Lantern

Ohio State senior James Trotter shakes hands with his opponent during the Ohio State-Kentucky match Friday. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Zachary Rilley | For the Lantern

Fresh off of a No. 1 ranking in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, Ohio State showed no signs of slowing down against No. 10 Kentucky Friday.

The No. 1 Buckeyes (8-0) scored their third top-10 win in eight days at home as they continue to build momentum towards ITA Indoor National Championships. The match was the Wildcats’ first loss of the season following an impressive 7-0 start.

The Buckeyes showed up early to remain undefeated in doubles, with No. 1 graduate Matej Vocel and junior Robert Cash leading the charge with a 6-3 win against fifth-year senior Millen Hurrion and junior Liam Draxl to remain unbeaten together this season.

Cash said much of the duo’s success is due to the confidence they’ve gained playing together so often over the last year.

“We’ve gotten to play a lot of matches and I think that really helped,” Cash said. “We play a lot of practice sets and that helps with our chemistry; it helps us get to know one another’s games. Playing all the matches in the fall and just being confident, we’re doing great so far.”

Sophomore JJ Tracy and junior Cannon Kingsley almost found themselves tied at four against No. 57 redshirt sophomore JJ Mercer and sophomore Joshua Lapadat before fending off four straight game points, taking a 5-3 lead and closing out their set with a clutch performance.

No. 2 junior Justin Boulais and senior James Trotter got off to a strong start, going up 4-1 before Kentucky’s sophomore Yasha Zemel and graduate Francois Musitelli caught fire, winning four straight and having match point when play ended.

As Ohio State has not lost a doubles point this season, Cash said that winning the opening point gives the team momentum going into the singles portion of their matches.

“Doubles is the biggest point in college tennis,” Cash said. “There’s six singles points and it’s much easier to split singles than win four out of six. That’s a hard thing to do.”

Singles play began with heavy competition, as five separate courts showed 1-1 after two games. No. 16 Kingsley was the standout among the group, winning his first three against Hurrion on the way to a 6-2 first set victory. His second set saw him falter, dropping to 3-4 at one point before taking back control to notch the win 6-2, 6-4.

Kingsley said his strong performance in doubles helped give him an opening boost, and that he was able to take advantage of the momentum to get the early lead.

Cash also put out a great singles performance on the day, winning 10 of his first 12 games. However, like Kingsley, he would falter towards the end of his match, leading 5-1 in the second set before dropping three straight to No. 37 Lapadat. He regained his composure and closed out his match 6-1, 6-4.

The final point for the Buckeyes came in the form of No. 11 Tracy, who continued his impressive season against Musitelli with a dominant 6-1 first set. The Wildcat graduate would prove troublesome for Tracy in the second set, however, leading 3-4 before Tracy picked back up and took his court 6-1, 6-4.

While not able to finish his match, graduate Jake Van Emburgh would be a standout for the Buckeyes on the night, going toe-to-toe with No. 5 junior Gabriel Diallo and taking the first set in a 7-5 tiebreaker. The match would be early in the second set when play finished.

The lone Wildcat to take a set on the day would be Mercer, playing his first match in Columbus since transferring from Ohio State last year. He bested No. 36 Trotter in the first set 6-4 before falling in the second 3-6 just before play ended.

Kingsley said that playing against the highest competition has been instrumental in getting the Buckeyes ready for indoor championships.

“Going into a tournament, this is what you want,” Kingsley said. “All these teams we are playing are going to be in that tournament in Seattle. It’s great preparation and I think we have been preparing for these matches well in practice.”

The Buckeyes return to action Sunday with yet another top-10 matchup, hosting No. 6 Wake Forest. The match will begin at noon and be livestreamed on the Ohio State Buckeyes website.