Ohio State tennis limps into NCAA Tournaments

Ohio State has likely the best tennis program in the country right now. The Buckeyes are the only school with serious contenders for both the men's and women's team titles (though Texas A&M, Texas, and Virginia are not far off). Both teams dominated the Big Ten season, but both fell at the final hurdle in the Big Ten Tournaments.

On Saturday night, the men's team faced Michigan State. By ranking, the Buckeyes are significantly better, as Ohio State came in at No. 3 in the country while Michigan State was No. 25. The Spartans aren't ranked nearly as high as they could be, though, as they choked away several matches they really should have won in the regular season.

The final was a compelling and intense match, with some serious weather delays throwing off everyone's rhythm. Buckeye top player Aidan Kim played one of his better matches, and a 3-3 tie came down to a tiebreaker between Ohio State's Jack Anthrop and Michigan State's Matthew Forbes went to a title-deciding tiebreak in the third set, which Forbes won easily as Anthrop seemed to tighten up a bit.

It was a close loss to a good team, and the Buckeyes should be pretty confident going into the NCAA Tournament. This team isn't dominant or elite, and is prone to losing to worse teams, but it's still the country's most talented roster and should be a serious threat in the tournament.

The same is true of the women's team, though their loss in the final was a bit rougher. The No. 5 Buckeyes fell to Michigan (No. 18 in the country) in front of a home crowd, but too many of the team's players just couldn't find their best level for too much of the match. Top player Luciana Perry had no rhythm in the first or third set, losing badly to a player she should usually beat. The same is true of Audrey Spencer, who easily won her first set then just lost her level.