Ohio State men’s tennis team rallies to beat TCU for Team Indoor National Championship

Ohio State entered its men’s tennis season believing its depth would be a strength.

In the finals of the ITA National Indoor Team Championship in New York on Monday, it was essential.

The undefeated and top-ranked Buckeyes trailed most of the match against No. 2 TCU before Alexander Bernard and Robert Cash pulled out three-set victories to give OSU its third Indoor championship with a 4-3 victory.

Bernard, at No. 6 singles, overcame an early third-set break to win 6-4, 6-3, 3-6 to tie the match. Cash then completed the Buckeyes’ comeback with a 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 5.

Ohio State trailed 2-0 after losing the doubles point by losing two of the three sets, and Cannon Kingsley was routed at No. 1 singles 6-1, 6-0.

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JJ Tracy got OSU on the board with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3 and Jack Anthrop tied the match with a 7-5, 6-2 victory at No. 4.

TCU regained the lead when Justin Boulais fell 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2 singles. Boulais had a chance for a service break on match point in college’s no-ad scoring system.

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That loss meant Ohio State had to win the third sets by both Cash and Bernard to rally. They did just that.

The Buckeyes previously won the Indoor title in 2014 and 2019.