Ohio State’s Nikita Filin defeats Northwestern’s Vincent Yang 6-3, 6-2 to put the Buckeyes ahead 3-0 in Evanston, Ill., Sunday. The Buckeyes defeated the Wildcats 4-0, clinching the Big Ten title for the 19th time in a row. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
The Buckeyes are Big Ten regular-season champions for the 19th year in a row.
No. 4 Ohio State beat Northwestern for the 24th consecutive time in a clean sweep, extending the Buckeyes’ match winning streak to 15 as they head toward the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 1 seed.
Here’s how it happened:
Doubles:
- On court three, redshirt freshman Alex Fuchs and junior Alexander Bernard won the first doubles game of the afternoon with a score of 6-2
- Redshirt freshman Brandon Carpico and freshman Nikita Filin continued the winning streak on court two, earning a 6-3 set victory
- Sophomore Aidan Kim and junior Will Jansen opened their match with a 5-4 lead. However, the match was left unfinished after the Buckeyes claimed the doubles point.
Singles:
- Jansen opened the singles matches with a win on court three, 6-0 in the first set and 6-3 in the second.
- Filin got his second win of the day and continued the winning on singles court six, dominating the first set 6-3 and the second 6-2. He has a 7-2 overall record this season and is 2-0 in the Big Ten.
- Anthrop, who ranks No. 92 nationally, continued his dominance with a win on court four. His first set resulted in a 6-1 win and the second a 6-3 victory. He is on a 13-match winning streak this season and is 23-4 in the season.
- Kim’s second game of the afternoon was unfinished, following his 6-3 win in set one. He led 4-3 before Ohio State claimed the sweep.
- Bernard did not have the chance to finish his match following a close 7-5 victory in set one. He led 4-2 in the second set before the Buckeyes earned a team victory.
- After a 6-2 win in the first set, redshirt sophomore Preston Stearns ended the afternoon with an unfinished game where he led 4-3 in set two.
The Buckeyes return home to the Ty Tucker Tennis Center for the season’s last two games: Friday at 6 p.m. to host the Indiana Hoosiers (10-12, 1-10 Big Ten) and Sunday at 2 p.m. against Purdue (11-9, 3-8 Big Ten).
