April 6, 1999
COLUMBUS, Ohio -
MATCHES No. 20 AND 21
The Ohio State Buckeyes (6-13, 0-6 Big Ten) were once again on the brink of winning their first Big Ten match of the season, but in the end came up just short, losing to Michigan State, 4-3, Sunday. OSU also played Michigan last weekend, losing 6-1. The opponents that await the Buckeyes don't get any easier, as Northwestern and second-ranked Illinois visit the Stickney Tennis Center this weekend.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
The Wildcats come into Friday's match with a 7-7 record (2-2 Big Ten). They are riding a two-match winning streak after defeating Iowa and Wisconsin last weekend. Northwestern has become a national power in recent years, having qualified for the NCAA Championships each of the past five seasons and advancing to the round of 16 in 1997. They are currently ranked No. 34 in the nation.
NU is led by No. 1 singles player Doug Bohaboy. A native of Palo Alto, Calif., the 69th-ranked Bohaboy has a record of 22-12 (3-1 Big Ten). He has had wins over current-No. 12 Ignacio Hirigoyen of SMU and No. 52 Robert Bracone of N.C. State so far this year.
The Wildcats have been without the services of last year's Big Ten Player of the Year Marc Silva as of late. He left the team for personal reasons just after the Feb. 13 match against California and has not participated in any dual matches since.
Northwestern is coached by Paul Torricelli, who is in his 16th year at the helm. He is the schools all-time winningest men's tennis coach, having posted a 243-161 record.
OSU vs. NORTHWESTERN HISTORY
Northwestern holds the lead in the all-time series, 41-29. The two teams last played April 7, 1998, a match won by the Wildcats in Columbus. NU has won 10 matches in a row against OSU.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
The Fighting Illini have thoroughly dominated the Big Ten the past two years, and this years looks to be no different. Illinois is currently 16-2 (4-0 Big Ten) and ranked No. 2 in the nation. They pulled off one of the bigger wins of the season for any team in the semifinals of the National Team Indoors Feb. 20, snapping No.1-ranked Stanford's 45-match winning streak.
Although UI has been without the services of one of its best players, senior Gavin Sontag, since he fractured his hip in the Stanford match, the Illini haven't missed a beat. The team has turned to No. 1 singles player Oliver Freelove, ranked No. 8 in the nation, for solid play, and he has responded with a 24-9 (4-0 Big Ten) record this season.
Jakub Teply has also provided consistent play in the middle of the lineup, going 11-3 in the No. 4 and No. 5 singles slots. Also standing out is freshman Mike Kosta, who has gone 8-1 in dual matches (4-0 Big Ten) playing at the bottom of the lineup.
Illinois is known for fiery and aggressive play, especially in doubles. The success the Fighting Illini has had in recent years can be traced to their doubles domination. This year, UI has won the doubles point in 14 of its 18 matches and can boast of having the third-ranked (Freelove/Cary Franklin) and seventh-ranked (Sontag/Laski) doubles teams in the nation.
The coach of Illinois is Craig Tiley, who has almost single-handedly turned the Illini into a national power. He has an 100-53 record and is in his sixth year in Champaign-Urbana.
OSU vs. ILLINOIS HISTORY
Illinois leads the all-time series, 44-25-1. They won the last meeting over Ohio State, 7-0, in Champaign-Urbana. UI has beaten OSU five straight times.
SO CLOSE YET AGAIN
The Buckeyes traveled north last weekend to play Michigan and Michigan State. The Wolverines proved to be too much for the Buckeyes, winning 6-1. But the Michigan State match turned out to be much closer. Unfortunately for OSU, the result was the same - a loss, 4-3.
Ben Basil was the lone highlight in the match against Michigan. He defeated Henry Beam, 6-3, 6-3, to give OSU its only point of the match. The win ran Basil's record to 4-2 in Big Ten dual matches.
After the doubles were completed against Michigan State, it appeared that things could be ugly for a second consecutive day. But to the Buckeyes credit, they battled back. Down 1-0, OSU picked up a big win from freshman Kevin Hawke, who snapped a 12-match losing streak in defeating Ivica Primorac 6-3, 6-2. MSU nailed down wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles to make the score 3-1, but once again Ohio State would claw back into it. Andrew Carlson cut the deficit to 3-2 when he won his second Big Ten match of the season, defeating Ken Kigongo 7-6, 6-2.
Two matches remained on the court - OSUs Chris Porter vs. Trey Eubanks at No. 1 singles and OSUs Derek DeFalco vs. Chris Struck at No. 4 singles. DeFalco went up an early break in his third set while Porter remained on serve. As DeFalco continued to dominate Struck, it became apparent the match would come down to No. 1 singles. That's when the experience of Eubanks kicked in. He broke Porter's serve at 4-4 and held his own serve to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, clinching the match for the Spartans. DeFalco ended up winning his match 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, to make the final score 4-3.
PORTER STILL IN THERE
Chris Porter dropped nine spots to No. 79 in the latest Spring III Singles Rankings, released April 6.
Porter jumped to No. 70 in the rankings after defeating No. 4 Mark Loughrin in the Big Ten Indoor Championships, Jan. 17, and Aaron Marchetti of Virginia Tech, Feb. 20. Both wins came in straight sets.
A sophomore from Canton, Ohio, Porter will have an opportunity to add to his list of good wins this weekend. In the Northwestern match Friday, he is scheduled to take on No. 69-ranked Doug Bohaboy. Against Illinois, he should meet up with No. 8-ranked Oliver Freelove of Illinois.
BIG BEN STILL TICKING
Ben Basil has been solid as a rock during the dual match season for OSU. He is the only player to have reached double-digits in dual match wins. Basil also leads the team in overall doubles wins (14) and dual match doubles wins (9).
A senior from Upper Arlington, Ohio, Basil is one victory away from cracking the Top 15 in all-time OSU singles victories. He currently has 63. Basil also ranks 12th in all-time doubles victories with 55, putting him only four doubles victories shy of making the Top 10 in that category.
CATCHING THE COACH
Basil's next singles victory will tie him with OSU assistant coach Ty Tucker on the all-time singles win list. Tucker was a Buckeye from 1989-91 and was a two-time All-American.
BIG TEN UPDATE
There is a three-way tie atop the Big Ten Conference Standings, with Illinois, Purdue and Michigan all holders of 4-0 records. Michigan State checks in at fourth place with a 3-1 record.
Ironically, although Ohio State does not have a win in conference, they have taken two of the top four teams to the limit. On March 17, Purdue had to sweat out a 4-3 victory when Jamie Gordon defeated Chris Porter 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the deciding match. Last Sunday, Michigan State did the same thing, narrowly beating the Buckeyes, 4-3, when Trey Eubanks came through at No. 1 singles with the match on the line.
