Ohio State University Team Page
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 5 Ohio State men's tennis team downed No. 10 Texas, 4-2, in the quarterfinals of the 2014 ITA National Team Indoor Championship Saturday at the Downtown Club at the Met in Houston, Texas. The Buckeyes (11-0) will compete in the final four of the competition against the winner of No. 1 Virginia/No. 8 California at Noon CST Sunday.
With the score at 3-2 in favor of the Buckeyes, redshirt junior Kevin Metka clinched the team's ticket to the semifinals after defeating Nick Naumann, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, on court No. 5. Metka, a native of Worthington, Ohio, improves to 10 in dual play this year.
With the win, the Buckeyes are now 19-12 all-time at the tournament. In 2014, Ohio State has compiled a 4-0 record against ITA Top 25 teams (No. 17 Kentucky, 4-0; No. 8 Texas A&M, 4-3; No. 12 Florida, 4-1). Meanwhile, 15th-year head coach Ty Tucker picked up his third-consecutive win vs. Texas, 3-3, while Ohio State is now 3-5 vs. the Longhorns (8-2). The Scarlet and Gray have now advanced to the semifinals for the fifth-consecutive season.
In doubles, court No. 1 featured a Top 10 matchup as second-ranked Peter Kobelt and Metka finished first following a 6-2 victory over No. 7 Soren Hess-Olesen and Lloyd Glasspool. The Buckeye duo improves to 4-1 in the dual season, winners nine of their last 11 matches. Ohio State then claimed the first point of the match at court No. 2 when Hunter Callahan and Herkko Pollanen claimed their seventh-consecutive win with a 6-4 victory against Nick Naumann and George Goldhoff at No. 2.
Texas jumped out to a 2-1 lead in singles winning on courts No. 2 and 1, respectively. The Longhorns were the first to finish a singles match at court No. 2 where No. 29 Glasspool defeated Chris Diaz, 6-2, 6-5. Hess-Olesen then claimed the first set tiebreaker vs. Kobelt on No. 1 and went on to defeat the OSU senior, 6-5 (7-5), 6-3.
However, the Buckeyes rebounded quickly to tie it, 2-2, when Hunter Callahan downed Sudanwa Sitaram, 6-4, 6-4 on court No. 6. With the straight-set victory, Callahan improved to 9-0 this dual season. Pollanen claimed his first collegiate victory vs. a ranked opponent to put Ohio State ahead, 3-2, on court No. 3. Pollanen defeated No. 32 Goldhoff, 6-4, 6-3. The native of Helsinki, Finland, Pollanen improves to 4-2 in 2014.
2014 ITA Team Indoors Championship
Tennis Match Results
Houston, Texas
Downtown Club at the Met
#5 Ohio State 4, #10 Texas 2
Singles competition
1. #53 Søren Hess-Olesen (UT) def. #23 Peter Kobelt (OSU) 6-5 (7-5), 6-3
2. #29 Lloyd Glasspool (UT) def. Chris Diaz (OSU) 6-2, 6-5
3. Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. #32 George Goldhoff (UT) 6-4, 6-3
4. Ralf Steinbach (OSU) vs. Adrien Berkowicz (UT) 3-6, 6-5 (7-4), 5-4, unfinished
5. Kevin Metka (OSU) def. Nick Naumann (UT) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
6. Hunter Callahan (OSU) def. Sudanwa Sitaram (UT) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #2 Peter Kobelt/Kevin Metka (OSU) def. #7 Søren Hess-Olesen/Lloyd Glasspool (UT) 6-2
2. Herkko Pollanen/Hunter Callahan (OSU) def. Nick Naumann/George Goldhoff (UT) 6-4
3. Ralf Steinbach/Chris Diaz (OSU) vs. David Holiner/Jacoby Lewis (UT) 3-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
Texas 8-2; National ranking #10
Ohio State 11-0; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,1,6,3,5)
ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship - Quarterfinals
