COLUMBUS, Ohio -
Steven Williams, a sophomore on the Ohio State men's tennis team, was a winner of three-consecutive straight set wins, which included a victory over the No. 1 seed, before falling in the quarterfinals in the 2009 Big Ten Singles Championship Sunday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
Williams entered the 64-player field as the 14th seed and encountered No. 1 Marek Czerwinski of Illinois in the round of 16. The Buckeye from Manlius, N.Y., surprised Czerwinski with a 6-4, 6-4 victory to move on to a matchup against sixth-seed Chris Madden of Michigan. It was Madden who tripped up Williams, handing him a 6-4, 6-3 loss.
Prior to his impressive win over Czerwinski, Williams won two matches Saturday. In the first round, he faced Michigan State's John Stratton and won 6-3, 6-2. In the next round, Williams played an equally notable match with his 6-4, 6-3 win over Tommy McGeorge of Iowa.
The fall season continues for the Buckeyes with the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships Nov. 5-8 at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center. The national indoors will be the final fall event for Ohio State before it opens its spring season Jan. 20 against Butler and Xavier at the Varsity Indoor Tennis Center.
2009 Big Ten Singles Indoor Championship
Hosted by Michigan State University
East Lansing, Mich.
MSU Indoor Tennis Facility
Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2009
No. 14 Steven Williams def. John Stratton (Michigan State), 6-3, 6-2
No. 14 Steven Williams def. Tommy McGeorge (Iowa), 6-4, 6-3
No. 14 Steven Williams def. No. 1 Marek Czerwinski (Illinois), 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 Chris Madden (Michigan) def. No. 14 Steven Williams, 6-4, 6-3
