COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a matchup of two of collegiate tennis' national powers, No. 2 Ohio State defeated No. 9 Stanford, 6-1, Saturday inside the Ohio State Varsity Tennis Center.
The defeat was the first of the season for the Cardinal (4-1), which played its first of six consecutive road matches against top-20 teams on Saturday.
Stanford surrendered the doubles point for the first time this season, as the Buckeyes (6-0) captured wins at No. 3 and No. 1. It was the first defeat of the spring for the duo of Axel Geller and Alexandre Rotsaert (4-1).
Ohio State sealed the match victory with wins in the bottom half of the singles lineup, as Martin Joyce clinched it for the Buckeyes with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Michael Genender at No. 4.
Junior William Genesen provided Stanford's lone point of the day, with a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory over No. 13 Kyle Seelig.
Geller (3-1) faced his second top-five opponent in as many matches, after dispatching No. 5 Thomas Laurent of Oregon in straight sets (6-4, 6-2) last week. He fell for the first time in dual play to No. 3 JJ Wolf of Ohio State on Saturday (7-5, 6-1). In another ranked matchup, Rotsaert (4-1) lost for the first time in dual play, falling to No. 36 John McNally.
Stanford will head back to Northern California for a couple days, before traveling to Southern California for two more top-10 matchups, against No. 5 USC on Friday (Feb. 8) and No. 7 UCLA on Saturday (Feb. 9) in Los Angeles. No. 2 Ohio State 6, No. 9 Stanford 1
DOUBLES
1) JJ Wolf/Martin Joyce (OSU) d. Axel Geller/Alexandre Rotsaert (STAN) 6-4
2) Alex Kobelt/James Trotter (OSU) led Sameer Kumar/Timothy Sah (STAN) 5-4
3) John McNally/Hunter Tubert (OSU) d. Jack Barber/Michael Genender (STAN) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3,1,-
SINGLES
1) No. 3 JJ Wolf (OSU) d. No. 20 Axel Geller (STAN) 7-5, 6-1
2) No. 36 John McNally (OSU) d. No. 64 Alexandre Rotsaert (STAN) 6-4, 7-5
3) No. 101 William Genesen (STAN) d. No. 13 Kyle Seelig (OSU) 6-3, 7-6 (6)
4) Martin Joyce (OSU) d. Michael Genender (STAN) 6-2, 6-2
5) Alex Kobelt (OSU) d. No. 29 Sameer Kumar (STAN) 6-3, 6-2
6) Hunter Tubert (OSU) d. Timothy Sah (STAN) 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6,5,4,1,2,3