COLLEGE

Ohio State tops TCU, advances to NCAA men's tennis title match

Staff reports

Coach Ty Tucker's Buckeyes advanced to Sunday's national championship.

Ohio State defeated TCU 4-0 on Saturday in Orlando, Florida, to advance the NCAA men's tennis championship match. The third-seeded Buckeyes will play at noon Sunday against No. 5 Virginia.

Ohio State won the doubles point, then got singles victories from Jack Anthrop, Justin Boulais and Alexander Bernard. It was the second consecutive day Bernard, a freshman from Bonita Springs, Florida, clinched the match.

TCU was the No. 2 seed. Virginia beat No. 1 Texas 4-1 on Saturday.

Ohio State (34-2) has won 19 consecutive matches. This is the Buckeyes' seventh trip to the semifinals under coach Ty Tucker, and they have not won an outdoor title. They finished second in 2009 and 2018. Last year, they lost to Kentucky in the semifinals.

Anthrop gave OSU a 2-0 lead at No. 6 singles with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Lui Maxted. Justin Boulais then won at No. 1, beating Jake Fearnley 6-3, 6-4. Bernard, at No. 5, topped Sebastian Gorzny 6-4, 6-4.

In doubles, OSU's Robert Cash and Boulais topped TCU's Fearnley and Luc Fomba 6-3 while Buckeyes Andrew Lutschaunig and James Trotter beat Gorzny and Pedro Vives. OSU's Cannon Kingsley and JJ Tracy lost to Sander Jong and Jack Pinnington 6-4.