Ohio State University Team Page
COLUMBUS, Ohio- Closing in on a decade of dominance in Columbus, Ohio, the No. 7 Ohio State men's tennis team will seek its 164th and 165th-consecutive home wins vs. Wisconsin Friday, April 5 and Minnesota Sunday, April 7. The home win streak currently is the longest active among all Division I sports. The Florida women's tennis team is second with a home win streak of 117.
The Buckeyes' impressive stretch began April 6, 2003 with a 5-2 victory vs. Purdue. Ohio State's last loss in Columbus was a 5-2 setback vs. Illinois April 5, 2003.
Ty Tucker, head coach of the Buckeyes (18-2 overall; 3-0 Big Ten), took over the program in 1999 and since then has built one of the elite men's tennis teams in the nation. Under Tucker's guidance, the Scarlet and Gray have qualified for the NCAA Team Championships each season, advancing as far as the national championship match in 2009 as well as the semifinals in 2011 and the quarterfinals in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012. In 13 NCAA championship appearances, Ohio State has compiled a 32-13 (.711) record.
"We've had good assistant coaches and great players," Tucker, the 2009 Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Coach of the Year, said. "We've done a good job of recruiting and developing guys. We know it is harder to get guys from warm weather states to come to Ohio, so there is a special emphasis on development."
To date, Ohio State is 332-44 (.883) since 2001 as a Top 25 team and 109-49 (.690) since 2000 vs. Top 25 programs.
A season ago former Buckeye Chase Buchanan (2009-12) and Blaz Rola (2011-present) teamed up to win the 2012 NCAA Doubles Championship, becoming the first tennis Buckeyes to win a national title. The duo also became the first tandem to win all three major collegiate championships in one season - ITA All-American Championships, USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships and NCAA Championships.
Ohio State has simply dominated the Big Ten Conference during the past 10 years, winning seven Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. During the run, the Buckeyes have captured seven consecutive regular-season league crowns (2006-12), while winning six consecutive tournament championships from 2006-2011. In all, Ohio State has amassed a 97-4 (.960) record vs. Big Ten opponents since the start of the 2003 season.
Tucker, an eight-time Big Ten Coach of the Year recipient, has coached several Buckeyes to individual success. In addition to Buchanan and Rola, Steven Moneke (2006-09) was the 2009 NCAA Singles Championship runner-up. Six singles and a pair of Buckeye doubles teams have earned the coveted status as the top-ranked player in the nation, including Jeremy Wurtzman, who won the ITA/Farnsworth National Senior Co-Player of the Year honor in 2004. A total of 10 All-Americans have been coached by Tucker.
Academically, seven of Tucker's student-athletes have been named ITA Scholar-Athletes and 24 have earned Academic All-Big Ten laurels, while 33 have been named Ohio State Scholar-Athletes.
In 2003
• Ohio State Men's Tennis: 22-7 overall; 9-1 in the Big Ten; advanced to NCAA Round of 16
• Price of Gas: Week of April 7, 2003 was $1.67 (eia.gov)
• Most Popular Movies Released in 2003: Finding Nemo, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (IMDb.com)
• No. 1 on Year End 2003 Billboard Charts: Pop Album (50 Cent, Get Rich or Die Tryin'); R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (In Da Club, 50 Cent, Get Rich or Die Tryin'); Country Songs (My Front Porch Looking In, Lonestar - 16 Biggest Hits); Country Albums (Up! Shania Twain) (billboard.com)
• 75th Academy Awards: Best Picture: Chicago (oscars.org)
• Most Popular TV Shows Released: Two and a Half Men, NCIS, Arrested Development, One Tree Hill, The O.C. (IMDb.com)
• TV Series Finales: Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek (IMDb.com)
Notable Ohio State Home Win Streaks
• Fencing: 147 (last loss in 2002; meets include club programs)
• Synchronized Swimming: 68 (1987-2008; records available beginning in 1987; including club programs)
• Men's Basketball: 50 (1959-1964)
• Men's Volleyball: 38 (1976-78)
• Women's Basketball: 31 (2011-2013)
• Football: 26 (1972-1976)
• Women's Volleyball: 24 (1989-90)
