The No. 3 Ohio State men’s tennis team (31-4) topped No. 42 California (17-14) on May 2 to advance to the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA tournament.
The win was the Buckeyes’ 75th NCAA tournament victory in program history.
OSU beat the Bears 4-0 with doubles wins by Alexander Bernard and Alex Okonkwo (6-4 over Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski and Tiago Silva) and Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima (who claimed a7-3 tiebreaker over Bernardo Munk-Mesa and Paris Pouatcha).
In singles competition, Kim, Jack Anthrop and Nikita Filin earned victories. Kim knocked off Lechno-Wasiutynski 6-1, 6-3. Anthrop defeated Silva 6-3, 6-2. Filin won his match over Munk-Mesa 6-2, 6-3.
The Buckeyes will welcome No. 14 Illinois (24-7) to the Auer Tennis Complex next weekend in the Columbus Super Regional.
Ohio State women also advance
The No. 4-ranked Ohio State women’s tennis team beat visiting Youngstown State (12-12) on May 2 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Buckeyes won the doubles point with victories by Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev and Audrey Spencer, and by Flora Johnson and Luciana Perry. The singles points were clinched by Johnson, Perry and Alessia Cau in straight sets to give the Buckeyes a 4-0 win.
In the second round the following afternoon, OSU won again 4-0, this time beating No. 35 Notre Dame. The doubles winners were the same as the previous day. Singles matches were carried by Spencer, Nao Nishino and Hephzibah Oluwadare.
That victory earns the Buckeyes (25-4) a shot against No. 14 Vanderbilt (22-9) in the Sweet 16. Ohio State will face the Commodores in Columbus at 1 p.m. on May 9, and attendance and parking are free.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State men’s and women’s tennis earn Sweet 16 spots
Reporting by Lori Schmidt, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
