Ohio State redshirt freshman Brandon Carpico prepares to hit the ball during No. 4 Ohio State’s match against No. 21 University of Central Florida. The Buckeyes fell 4-2 to the Knights during the ITA Indoor Team National Championship on Friday in Waco, Texas. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
Ohio State looked to defend its 2024 ITA National Team Indoors Championship title.
But the Buckeyes’ title defense was short-lived.
In the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, No. 4 Ohio State (6-2) fell to No. 21 UCF (10-1) 4-2 Friday in Waco, Texas.
The match started off well for Ohio State though, as it won the doubles point handily with a pair of 6-1 victories led by the duos of Aidan Kim and Will Jansen, as well as Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin, which gave the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead.
In singles, however, Ohio State couldn’t find the same success.
Aidan Kim lost in straight sets to UCF’s Yassine Dlimi to knot the match at one
But Ohio State’s Alexander Bernard quickly gave the lead back to the Buckeyes after he took down Knights’ Paul Colin 6-4 and 7-5.
Despite the 2-1 advantage, it was the final time the Buckeyes led for the day. Jansen dropped the third set against UCF’s Mehdi Benchakroun, 6-2, 1-6 and 6-4.
On court four, Ohio State’s Jack Anthrop, who was a perfect 7-0 in singles duels this season.
But his undefeated dual record came to an end at the hands of Liam Branger, 7-5, 3-6 and 6-4.
UCF’s momentum continued.
Ohio State’s Chris Li, who owned a team-best 15-4 singles record and an 8-0 duel match record, won the first set 6-4 and held a 6-5 lead in the second.
A point away from a match victory, Li rolled his ankle, which clearly affected his mobility. Li couldn’t score another point as UCF’s Nicolas Oliveira stormed back and took the second set 7-6.
Despite the evident injury, Li stayed on for the decisive third set. But Oliveira sealed the deal for UCF with a 6-1 win.
Ohio State won’t be able to get the bad taste of its first-round elimination for nearly two weeks. The Buckeyes’ next match is Feb. 26, when they’ll return to Ty Tucker Tennis Center in Columbus to take on their rival Michigan at 6 p.m.
