Ohio State senior James Trotter shakes hands with Tennessee senior Martim Prata after winning 6-0, 6-1 at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center Feb. 5. Ohio State won 4-0. Credit: Casey Smith | Assistant Sports LTV Producer
For the first time since 2019, Ohio State men’s tennis sits at the top of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.
The Buckeyes (9-0) came in at No. 1 in the Feb. 9 edition of the Division I Men’s Top 25 Coaches poll, receiving 10 of 12 first place votes. The success comes at the perfect time, as the team will soon head to Seattle for national indoors.
The change in ranking followed back-to-back top 10 wins, including consecutive sweeps against then-No. 1 Tennessee and then-No. 6 Virginia.
Junior Cannon Kingsley said the team’s intensity in preparation has been vital to its success as of late.
“I think we’ve been prepared with our practice and how intense we’re working every single day and the amount of pressure our coaches are putting on us for perfection,” Kingsley said.
Despite regaining the top spot, junior Robert Cash said things were business as usual for the Buckeyes as head coach Ty Tucker ingrained humility into the program.
“Coach Tucker doesn’t like to let us think we’re too good for our own stuff,” Cash said. “He’s always hard on us, telling us the team we play next is going to be the best team we’ll play. He doesn’t let our heads get too big.”
Ohio State received high praise in the singles and doubles polls as well, becoming the only team to receive four top 40 singles placements, as well as holding the top two spots in the doubles poll.
The highest risers for the Buckeyes were No. 36 senior James Trotter, ascending from No. 42, and No. 16 Kingsley, moving up from No. 21 on the back of two top 13 upsets. No. 11 sophomore JJ Tracy and No. 6 graduate Matej Vocel round out the ranked quartet.
Maintaining their top doubles spots were the teams of No. 1 Vocel and Cash, as well as No. 2 Trotter and junior Justin Boulais. Ohio State has not lost a doubles point this season.
Kingsley said doubles success has been impactful for the Buckeyes this season, as they can set the tone early.
“There’s momentum from doubles; you go up 1-0, go out on the singles court and your opponents are a little bit deflated sometimes,” Kingsley said. “I think we’ve been doing a great job getting a hot start.”
Going into the tournament, the Buckeyes now hold four consecutive top 10 victories, capped off by an impressive 7-0 showing against No. 6 Wake Forest Sunday. The team has not dropped a point since Jan. 19 when Xavier’s No. 64 graduate Diego Nava upset Kingsley in singles action.
Cash said facing a collection of top 10 teams will aid them in their bid for a national title as many teams in the tournament are the same ones they have faced in recent weeks.
“It helps us know in our heads that we can play with anyone in the country and beat anyone in the country,” Cash said. “We’ve had a great last two weeks, and hopefully we’re going to ride that momentum into Seattle.”
Cash said it will be a tougher task to beat those teams this time around, as the Buckeyes no longer have the home crowd behind them.
“A lot of guys on the bench and on the court try to pump each other up to make it feel more like that home atmosphere,” Cash said. “It’s going to be fun and it’s going to be a good challenge.”
The championship tournament kicks off Friday, spanning four days as 16 teams vie for a national title. Ohio State begins its run at 6:30 p.m. facing the tournament’s host, Washington. The entire tournament will be streamed through the ITA website.
