Ohio State and Harvard will clash at the ITA National quarterfinals



by LORENZO CIOTTI

Ohio State and Harvard will clash at the ITA National quarterfinals
© Ohio State website

No.1 Ohio State University men's tennis team has qualified for the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in New York, where they will face Harvard University. Ohio State beat Alabama 4-2 in the opening round at the Columbia University, while No. 9 Harvard defeated No. 8 Columbia 4-2

Ohio State defeated Alabama

Cannon Kingsley and JJ Tracy won 6-2 and posted the Buckeye's only doubles victory. Alabama earned victories on early contests and took a 1-0 lead. In singles, sophomore Alexander Bernard got the Buckeyes going with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Zach Foster. Tracy then earned her second win of the day with a result of 6-3, 6-1.

Jack Anthrop provided the third point with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Andrii Zimnokh. After The Crimson Tide made it 3-2 with a win on court one, Robert Cash provided the deciding point with his 7-5, 7-6(3) over Roan Jones.

The Buckeyes are now 10-0 on the season and will seek their 12th semifinal in the indoor championship.

Men's singles:

#53 Filip Planinsek (ALA) def. #67 Kingsley Cannon (OSU) 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5)
#25 Justin Boulais (OSU) vs. #74 Enzo Aguiard (ALA) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), unfinished
#7 JJ Tracy (OSU) def. #115 Matias Ponce De Leon (ALA) 6-3, 6-1
#13 Jack Anthrop (OSU) def. Andrii Zimnokh (ALA) 7-5, 6-3
Robert Cash (OSU) def. Roan Jones (ALA) 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)
#86 Alexander Bernard (OSU) def. Zach Foster (ALA) 6-2, 6-0

Men's doubles:

Enzo Aguiard/Zach Foster (ALA) def. Justin Boulais/Andrew Lutschaunig (OSU) 6-4
#45 Filip Planinsek/Andrii Zimnokh (ALA) def. #35 Robert Cash/Bryce Nakashima (OSU) 7-5
Cannon Kingsley/JJ Tracy (OSU) def. Roan Jones/Matic Dimic (ALA) 6-2

Harvard defeated Columbia

With the win over the Lions, the Crimson will have a chance to advance to the ITA Indoor Semifinals. The Crimson started the day with a 1-0 lead after winning in doubles.

The Lions tied the match after earning their first singles win of the day. Harvard regained the lead after Daniel Milavsky earned a win over Nicolas Kotzen 6-1, 7-5. The Lions quickly equalized.

Cooper Williams managed to secure a win for the Crimson, defeating No. 15 Michael Zheng 6-3, 7-5. Although Zheng put some pressure on Williams, the freshman was able to get the win and put Harvard up 3-2. In his first match with the Crimson, sophomore Valdemar Pape defeated Sachin Palta 6-3 7-6 (4), giving the Crimson a 4-2 final result.

Men's singles:

#12 Cooper Williams def. #15 Michael Zheng (Columbia), 6-3, 7-5
#101 Alex Kotzen (Columbia) vs. Henry von der Schulenburg, 7-6 (5), 3-6 DNF
Daniel Milavsky def. Nicolas Kotzen (Colombia), 6-1, 7-5
Max Westphal (Columbia) def. Ronan Jachuck, 6-2, 6-4
Hugo Hashimoto (Columbia) def. Melchior Delloye, 6-1, 6-4
Valdemar Pape def. Sachin Palta (Columbia), 6-3, 7-6 (4)

Men's doubles:

Theo Winegar/Michael Zheng (Columbia), def. #4 Cooper Williams/Daniel Milavsky, 6-4
Ronan Jachuck/Masato Perera def. #24 Nicolas Kotzen/Max Westphal (Columbia), 7-5
David Lins/Henry von der Schulenburg defeats Alex Kotzen/Sachin Palta, 6-2
Order of arrival: 3, 1, 2

Ohio State Harvard