Ohio State graduate Matej Vocel pumps his fist in celebration after winning a point in his singles match against Tennessee graduate Adam Walton at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center Friday. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Casey Smith | Assistant Lantern TV Sports Producer
The No. 5 Buckeyes capped off a hot weekend of home action Sunday with a 4-0 sweep against the No. 6 Virginia Cavaliers, notching their second top-10 win of the weekend.
Ohio State (7-0) kept its momentum rolling on the back of two-straight ranked victories, including a dominant showing against No. 1 Tennessee Friday. The match was Virginia’s (5-1) road opener and its first outing since qualifying for Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Championships.
It was the Cavaliers who gave the Buckeyes their most recent home loss, notching a 4-2 win during 2021 ITA Kickoff Weekend. It was the Buckeyes’ first and only loss at Ty Tucker Tennis Center, and Sunday would be their opportunity to get even.
The Buckeyes looked in sync during doubles action, never trailing on any court. No. 1 graduate Matej Vocel and junior Robert Cash set the tone, winning four of their first five games en route to a 6-3 set against sophomore Chris Rodesch and senior William Woodall.
Sophomore JJ Tracy and junior Cannon Kingsley capitalized on the momentum, going up 5-1 in their match against graduate Bar Botzer and sophomore Jeffrey Von der Schulenburg. The Virginia duo rallied to take two games back before Kingsley’s serve game clinched the doubles point for Ohio State 2-0.
In rhythm after his doubles performance, No. 21 Kingsley went into singles action against No. 13 Rodesch on a tear, winning his first five games. Rodesch wouldn’t make it easy however, taking three straight games of his own before Kingsley closed out the set 6-3.
Rodesch took the first game of their second set before Kingsley echoed his prior production, once again taking five straight on the way to a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
No. 42 senior James Trotter got off to a slow start on the day, falling behind 1-3 to No. 66 Von der Schulenburg. Trotter then took over, winning seven straight games that gave him the first set and a 2-0 lead in the second. He never relinquished his momentum, riding to a 6-3, 6-2 finish and tallying the first singles point on the board for the second straight match.
Trotter, who had fallen to Von der Schulenburg twice prior to Sunday, said he viewed the match as a revenge game and attributed his early slump to the personal ties.
“I think it was a bit mental due to wanting to win so badly, but after that I bounced back from the break and won the first set easily,” Trotter said. “Second set I think I played my game, pumped the crowd up. With them on my side I don’t want to say it was easy, but I think it was my day.”
No. 27 senior Ryan Goetz had a great opening against No. 14 Tracy, with the Cavalier taking a 5-3 lead in the first set. Things soon turned, as Goetz never saw a set point despite only needing a game.
Tracy took off, notching a victory in nine straight games that not only brought him back into the driver’s seat, but put him up 5-0 in the second set as play ended.
“The coaches just kept telling me the game plan, reinforcing the same things and I found my form,” Tracy said. “I started to make my shots and got more confident as the match went on.”
Tracy said he would have enjoyed the personal win but stressed that the team victory was much more important to him.
It would instead be the standout No. 5 Vocel that ended up clinching the win for Ohio State, but it would not be easy. No. 71 Botzer gave him a difficult matchup, with Vocel only able to pull away late into sets.
Both of the graduates’ sets ended with Vocel leading 5-3, then capitalizing on his opportunities to take the final point in a 4-0 Buckeye sweep.
On a day where several Buckeyes grasped momentum and never let go, Tracy and Trotter said the crowd got them pumped up and helped them to stay in rhythm.
“I hear a lot of people say it’s hard to play at Ohio State,” Trotter said. “Everyone comes out to support the team and I really appreciate that.”
Tracy said the prior loss against Virginia contributed to their motivation, but many on the team viewed the match the same way they would any other.
“It was definitely a revenge match for some people. They took away our ranking last year and gave us our first loss in here,” Tracy said. “But for others it was just another team we have to play; we’re trying to look at every team the same way.”
Ohio State returns home action Friday at 6 p.m. against No. 11 Kentucky, closing out its home stand Sunday against No. 10 Wake Forest at noon. Both matches will be live streamed on the Ohio State Buckeyes website.
