Mississippi State
Ohio State
#16 Bulldog Tennis Drops 6-1 Decision At No. 3 Ohio State
January 22, 2012 | Men's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio - After a big win over No. 53 Michigan State on Friday, Mississippi State's 16th-ranked tennis squad (3-1) dropped a tough 6-1 decision to the third-ranked Buckeyes of Ohio State on Sunday.
In doubles action, Ohio State started off quickly as the Buckeye duo of Peter Kobelt and Connor Smith earned an early 8-3 victory on court 3 over MSU's James Chaudry and Zach White.
The doubles clinching point came in a thrilling match in the No. 2 position where the Bulldog tandem of George Coupland and Artem Ilyushin went head-to-head with Ohio State's Devin McCarthy and Ille van Engelen. Battling back and forth through a hard fought match, the Buckeyes finally took down the MSU duo in a close 8-6 decision to put the match at 1-0, Ohio State.
Mississippi State's 12th-ranked pair of Louis Cant and Malte Stropp fought very hard but fell against the country's top-ranked duo in Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola, 8-5, to end doubles action on the day.
Swinging to singles play, the Buckeyes kept the momentum as the 123rd-ranked Smith took a 6-2, 6-2 decision from MSU's White putting OSU up 2-0. In another quick two-setter, Ohio State's 28th-ranked Buchanan bested MSU's Ilyushin 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot, pushing the score to 3-0 for the Buckeyes.
The clinching point for OSU would come in the top spot, where MSU's 79th-ranked Chaudry battled Ohio State's Blaz Rola, ranked No. 8 in the ITA polls. Battling back and forth, the two fought to a 6-6 tie but Rola took the tiebreaker for the first set. Chaudry would not give up as the match was an intense battle in the second set to 5-4 until Rola eventually proved too much and took the set and match 7-6(1), 6-4, clinching the match 4-0 for the Buckeyes.
On court 4, Ohio State's 116th-ranked Engelen took a 6-2, 6-2 decision from No. 90 Stropp of MSU, giving the Buckeyes a 5-0 lead.
In the fifth spot for MSU was No. 32 Coupland, who quickly took the first set 6-0 from McCarthy of Ohio State. However, McCarthy took a quick second from Coupland 6-1 to force a third set. The players battled back and forth but McCarthy eventually ousted Coupland in a tough 0-6, 6-1, 6-4 decision, extending the Buckeyes lead to 6-0.
The lone win for the Bulldogs came from court 3 where No. 45 Cant ousted Kobelt of Ohio State 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(8) in a third set super-tiebreaker.
Mississippi State will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 28, travelling to College Station, Texas, to take on Princeton in the first round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Match time is set for 11 a.m. CT.
#3 Ohio State 6, #16 Mississippi State 1
1/22/12 - Varsity Tennis Center - Columbus, Ohio
DOUBLES
1) #1 Chase Buchanan/Blaz Rola (OSU) def. #12 Louis Cant/Malte Stropp (MSU) 8-5
2) Devin McCarthy/Ille van Engelen (OSU) def. George Coupland/Artem Ilyushin (MSU) 8-6
3) Peter Kobelt/Connor Smith (OSU) def. James Chaudry/Zach White (MSU) 8-3
SINGLES
1) #8 Rola (OSU) def. #79 Chaudry (MSU) 7-6(1), 6-42)
2) #28 Buchanan (OSU) def. Ilyushin (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
3) #45 Cant (MSU) def. Kobelt (OSU) 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(8)
4) #116 Engelen (OSU) def. #90 Stropp (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
5) McCarthy (OSU) def. #32 Coupland (MSU) 0-6, 6-1, 6-4
6) #123 Smith (OSU) def. White (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish... Doubles (1, 2, 3)... Singles (6, 1, 2, 4, 5, 3)
Players Mentioned
