Then-sophomore Justin Boulais hits the ball during the Ohio State-Michigan State match Feb. 13, 2021. Credit: Lantern File Photo
Luck was not in the Fighting Irish’s favor during their match against the Ohio State men’s tennis team Saturday afternoon.
The No. 1 Buckeyes (14-0, 0-0 Big Ten) earned a 7-0 victory in their first road match of the season after they faced No. 63 Notre Dame (6-5, 0-0 ACC) in South Bend, Indiana.
Ohio State began the day’s matches strong, with two pairs — fifth-year Cannon Kingsley and senior JJ Tracy on court two along with fifth-year Justin Boulais and sophomore Alexander Bernard on court three — winning their doubles matches.
With the Buckeyes in the lead going into singles matches, Tracy, who was recently named Big Ten Athlete of the Week, swiftly won his first and second sets 6-1 on court three and handed the Buckeyes their second point of the day.
Tracy, who ranks No. 3 in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, is now three wins away from 200 combined doubles and singles victories in his career at Ohio State.
Bernard followed Tracy, winning his first set 6-1, and his second 6-4 on court six. Fifth-year Robert Cash clinched the Buckeye win with a straight-set victory on court five.
After the clinch, Kingsley and Boulais both had three-set victories on courts one and two while No. 12 redshirt sophomore Jack Anthrop closed off the sweep as he took the third match tiebreaker in a 10-5 win.
This win for the Buckeye keeps them undefeated on the season at 14-0. It also brought head coach Ty Tucker one win away from 700 in his coaching career at Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are headed to Texas for their next three matches where they will take on No. 17 Baylor Wednesday and No. 10 Texas and No. 12 Texas A&M for a pair of spring break matches later next week.
