The Ohio State Men’s Tennis team huddles up before the Ohio State-Michigan State match on Feb. 13, 2021. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Christian Harsa | Special Projects Director
The No. 5 Buckeyes have a challenge ahead of them as they host the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers in a top five matchup Friday.
Both the Buckeyes (5-0) and Volunteers (6-0) are coming off victories that advanced them to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoor Championships and look to capitalize on that momentum.
Headlining the matchup are Ohio State’s No. 5 graduate Matej Vocel and Tennessee’s No. 10 sophomore Johannus Monday. Vocel is undefeated in singles and holds the top ranking in doubles alongside junior Robert Cash, while Monday is 6-0 and already holds a ranked win over TCU’s No. 19 graduate Juan Carlos Aguilar.
This will be the third ITA top 10 matchup for the Volunteers, who racked up wins against No. 5 TCU and No. 10 Wake Forest this season. The match is only their second road outing of the year and first since traveling to TCU Jan. 16.
Friday will be the first match between the two teams since 2009, when Tennessee pulled out a close 4-3 victory. That was the Volunteers’ only win in four matchups all time against the Buckeyes, who lead the series 3-1.
After over a decade between meetings, the match could prove integral for keeping pace toward the ultimate goal of both squads: a national title.
No. 14 sophomore JJ Tracy, who closed kickoffs by winning a set 6-1, said the previous ranked match against No. 17 North Carolina was great preparation for what’s to come.
“We have a lot of confidence going into a big match,” Tracy said. “It’s great to be riding high going into that.”
Junior Cannon Kingsley, who has played tiebreaker sets in back-to-back weeks, said the close sets have prepared him for matches at the highest level.
“Every match is going to be tight, and I got to get ready for that,” Kingsley said. “I think getting through that tiebreak today is going to help me confidence-wise, knowing that I can win those breakers.”
The Buckeyes return to action at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center for the first time since Jan. 19, when they hosted a doubleheader to open their season. They have not lost in Columbus in over a year, with their last defeat coming at 2021’s ITA Kickoff against Virginia.
The action kicks off in Columbus at 6 p.m. Friday and will be streamed on the Ohio State Buckeyes website.
