College Tennis News - No. 9 Ohio State Hosts Louisville in Early Week Match Up

COLUMBUS, Ohio– The ninth-ranked Ohio State men’s tennis team will host Louisville at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Varsity Tennis Center in an early-week match up. Ohio State recently spent spring break in Malibu, Calif., where it defeated No. 12 Pepperdine, 4-1. With the win, the Scarlet and Gray improved to 2-0 vs. the Waves this season after beating them, 4-0, in the quarterfinals of the ITA Team Indoor Championship Feb. 16 in Seattle, Wash.

In a Nutshell
• Ohio State is 15-2 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten Conference play. The Buckeyes are 10-0 at the Varsity Tennis Center in Columbus.
• The Buckeyes improved to 329-44 (.882) since 2001 as a Top 25 team. Ohio State moves to 109-49 (.690) since 2000 vs. Top 25 programs.
• In 2013, Ohio State is 6-2 vs. Top 25 programs. The Buckeyes’ only losses were at No. 15 Texas A&M, Feb. 10 and vs. No. 1 Virginia in the semifinal of the ITA Team Indoor Championship Feb. 17.
• Following their wins vs. No. 25 Notre Dame Feb. 23 and LSU Feb. 24, the Scarlet and Gray extended their home win streak to 160 matches. The Buckeyes’ last loss at home was a 5-2 setback vs. Illinois April 5, 2003.
• In the early portion of the Big Ten season, Ohio State is in second place with a 1-0 conference record and overall mark of 15-2. Illinois, who has played two conference matches and is 2-0, leads the league with an overall record of 7-4.
• Redshirt junior Peter Kobelt leads the Buckeyes in singles wins with 24. With a 24-5 overall record that includes a 10-2 mark in dual play, Kobelt is 4-1 and 6-1 at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively.
• Junior Blaz Rola is 11-0 overall with an 8-0 record at No. 1 singles and 3-0 mark at the No. 2 position. • The Buckeyes are earning impressive victories at No. 5 and No. 6 singles from Hunter Callahan and Constantin Christ. Callahan, a redshirt sophomore, is 5-0 at No. 5 singles. Freshman Christ is 7-0 on court No. 6.
• In doubles action, the duo of Devin McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen are a team-best 12-1 overall. The tandem has posted an 8-1 record at No. 2 doubles and a 4-0 mark at the top position.
• Redshirt sophomore Kevin Metka has posted an Ohio State best 17-2 overall record in doubles, which includes a 14-1 ledger in dual play. Metka is 13-0 at No. 3 doubles.

In the Rankings
A quartet of Buckeyes is ranked in the Top 45 of the ITA standings released March 12. Peter Kobelt paces the Buckeyes with a No. 3 standing, while Blaz Rola is No. 20. Connor Smith is polled 37th and Chris Diaz is ranked 45th. Devin McCarthy is 124th.

In doubles, Kobelt and Smith hold down the No. 16th spot. The pair of McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen is No. 28 and Rola and Kevin Metka are ranked 51st.

With Honor
Blaz Rola and Peter Kobelt were recognized as Big Ten Tennis Athletes of the Week, Feb. 20 and Feb. 27, respectively. Rola earned the honor after leading Ohio State to the semifinals of the ITA Team Indoor championship in Seattle, Wash. In the opening round vs. California, Rola defeated No. 82 Ben McLachlan, 6-3, 4-2 ret., before downing No. 7 Jarmere Jenkins of No. 1 Virginia, 6-4, 6-2.

Kobelt posted a 4-0 record as he helped the Buckeyes beat No. 25 Notre Dame and No. 24 LSU. Playing No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, Kobelt defeated the Tigers’ Chris Simpson, 7-6, 6-4 before handing the Fighting Irish’s Quentin Monaghan a 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 loss. In doubles action, Kobelt teamed with Connor Smith and was victorious over Notre Dame’s Greg Andrews and Spencer Talmadge, 8-3, and Roger Anderson and Tam Trinh of LSU, 8-5 at No. 1 doubles.

Opening Act
With the 7-0 Big Ten Conference win at Penn State March 2, Ohio State won its 13th-consecutive Big Ten opener. The last time the Buckeyes dropped their conference opener was Feb. 19, 2000 vs. Minnesota, 5-2.

Big Ten Tournament Hosts
Ohio State will host the 2013 Big Ten Tournament April 25-28 at the Varsity Tennis Courts. The Buckeyes have won the conference tournament eight times – 1991, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

A Look at Louisville
Louisville enters the match with a 9-8 record, including a 6-3 mark at home and 2-5 and 1-0 ledgers on the road and neutral sites, respectively. The Buckeyes are 11-1 vs. the Cardinals all-time with their lone loss coming during the 1997-98 season, a 5-2 setback.

Up Next
The Buckeyes will commence the heart of their Big Ten schedule when they play Purdue at 6 p.m. Friday and Indiana at noon Sunday in Columbus. Matches are scheduled to be played at the Varsity Tennis Courts on Olentangy River Road. However, in the event of inclement weather, matches will be played at Varsity Tennis Center.