Ohio State sophomore JJ Tracy backhands a return in his singles match against Tennessee junior Angel Diaz at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center Feb. 4. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Casey Smith | Assistant Lantern TV Sports Producer
After two weeks away from the courts, No. 2 Ohio State will head down to Texas for a duo of outdoor matches to ramp up for Big Ten play.
The matches will be the Buckeyes’ (13-1) first outdoor matches of the season, beginning with an outing against the No. 15 Longhorns in Austin, Texas, Saturday. Texas (8-6) comes into the matchup behind the efforts of standouts No. 20 freshman Pierre-Yves Bailly and No. 32 senior Richard Ciamarra.
Ciamarra has found much success this season, holding a 13-4 record and rising over 80 spots from his previous ranking of No. 114.
The Buckeyes come in with recent success of their own, having not dropped a point since the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Championship Feb. 20. Their ace as of late has been No. 8 junior Cannon Kingsley, holding a 13-2 record in singles and winning his last nine straight.
Ohio State continues to hold its strong presence in the ITA rankings with the advancement of senior James Trotter to No. 26, giving it four players ranked in the top 30. No. 1 graduate Matej Vocel and junior Robert Cash continue to hold the top doubles position at 22-3, while teammates Trotter and junior Justin Boulais fall not far behind at No. 3.
Following that matchup, the Buckeyes travel to College Station, Texas, Tuesday to take on No. 29 Texas A&M. The Aggies have acquired a 9-6 record, with half of those losses coming at the ITA Indoor Championship.
Powering the Aggie attack is No. 98 sophomore Raphael Perot, sporting a 13-7 singles record. Their doubles team of juniors Austin Abbrat and Noah Schachter is on the rise, acquiring the No. 46 spot Wednesday.
Ohio State holds a combined 18-16 record against the two Texas squads all-time and will look to widen the gap as it builds momentum to Big Ten play, which kicks off March 18 against No. 11 Michigan. The matches serve as vital opportunities for the Buckeyes to settle back into outdoor competition before the road to a conference title begins.
Saturday’s match against Texas will begin at the Texas Tennis Center at 1 p.m., with the start time against Texas A&M at Mitchell Tennis Center to be announced. Both matches will be streamed on the Ohio State Buckeyes website.
