Women’s lacrosse, softball open seasons with a bang

Ohio State kicked off both its women’s lacrosse and softball seasons this weekend with positive results. Friday, women’s lacrosse posted a narrow, 11-9 victory over Duquesne in head coach Amy Bokker’s first game at the helm. Freshman Ashley Turner scored a hat trick in her first collegiate contest, while senior Liza Hernandez and sophomore Maura McGregor added two goals apiece.

Sunday was a different story, as the squad followed up its opening game success with a more decisive 13-8 win over Robert Morris. In all, seven different players scored, including six who scored two goals each, while the Buckeyes outshot their opponents 35-19.

The Buckeyes remain a perfect 2-0 after the weekend, and look to keep their early-season momentum alive Wednesday when they face Kent State in Columbus.

Softball, meanwhile, proved resilient in the team’s opening weekend at the Carolina Classic. After falling in the season opener 3-2 to No. 19 South Carolina Friday, the Buckeyes posted three-straight wins to close out the tournament. Saturday, Ohio State kicked things off with a 13-5 win over North Dakota State. Sophomore center fielder Meg Otte led the way for the Buckeyes with three runs, while sophomore shortstop Ashley Prange, sophomore infielder Kaitlyn Coffman and freshman right fielder Tegan Cortelletti each added two.

Later Saturday, the Buckeyes blanked Southern Illinois 5-0, with the scoring effort led by two runs from Prange.

Rounding out the weekend, Ohio State won a hardfought, 5-4 victory over UNC Greensboro in 10 innings, with five different players scoring a run.

Ohio State moves to 3-1 after its season-opening tournament, and continues the road trip this weekend against NC State and Notre Dame in Raleigh as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Tennis can’t stop, won’t stop

Ohio State tennis has been truly impressive in the early going this spring, and this weekend gave even more reasons to be excited about the trajectory of the tennis program. A week removed from overcoming No. 1 Texas (which pushed the Buckeyes to the No. 2 ranking in the NCAA), the men’s squad proved the win was no fluke when it defeated Arizona State and the new No. 1 USC this past weekend in Columbus. Friday, the Buckeyes blanked the Sun Devils 7-0 before a much tighter 4-2 victory over the Trojans on Sunday.

The women’s team’s weekend started off on a somewhat disappointing note, as the 12th-ranked Buckeyes fell to No. 22 Georgia Tech 4-1 in the round of 16 of the ITA Indoor Championships in Chicago. However, Ohio State quickly bounced back in the backdraw, posting a 4-3 win over 10th-ranked rival Michigan.

The women improved to 4-1 on the season, and next travel to Vanderbilt Sunday. The men, meanwhile, remain a perfect 8-0 as they prepare to face Texas A&M in Columbus Tuesday.

Women’s basketball’s streak continues

The Ohio State women’s basketball team is on a roll as the winners of three-straight games. First, the Buckeyes fought for an 80-64 overtime win on the road against Nebraska. Then, Ohio State defeated Illinois in Champaign 78-58. Most recently, the Buckeyes posted an 82-74 win at home against Wisconsin Sunday.

In that matchup, freshman guard Kristen Bell led the Buckeyes in scoring, putting up 20 points off the bench on 8-of-17 shooting. Sophomore forward Aaliyah Patty added 16 while sophomore guard Janai Crooms poured in 14. Defensively, the Buckeyes didn’t give up a single three-pointer from the Badgers.

With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 14-9 on the season, including 7-5 in conference play. They’ll look to continue the streak Thursday when the team faces Minnesota in Columbus.

In other news…

• Third-ranked Ohio State wrestling earned a 28-10 win over No. 8 Northwestern on senior night at the Covelli Center. Redshirt senior Kollin Moore (197-pounds), senior Luke Pletcher (141-pounds) and redshirt freshman Sammy Sasso (149-pounds), each the top-ranked wrestler in their respective divisions, brought home a win on the afternoon.
• No. 12 Ohio State men’s lacrosse posted a dominant, 11-4 win on the road against Boston University Saturday to improve to 2-0 on the young season. Eight different players found the back of the net for the Buckeyes, while junior goalie Josh Kirson had a career-high 18 saves. Ohio State looks to keep the momentum going Saturday when the Buckeyes face No. 18 UMass back in Columbus.
• No. 5 Ohio State women’s ice hockey fell in both games of the team’s two-game series on the road against No. 9 Minnesota Duluth. The Buckeyes dropped a 5-4 heartbreaker in overtime before falling 4-1 Saturday. With the losses, Ohio State moves to 17-8-5 overall, including 10-6-4 in conference. They’ll continue their road trip Saturday and Sunday against No. 1 Wisconsin
• 13th-ranked men’s hockey, meanwhile, went 0-1-1 on the weekend, earning a league point with a shootout over No. 9 Penn State Friday before falling to the Nittany Lions 6-3 Saturday. The Buckeyes fall to 16-10-4 on the season, with a 9-8-3 mark in Big Ten play. Ohio State looks to bounce back Friday on the road against No. 19 Michigan State.
• Ohio State men’s golf opened the spring this weekend, going 2-1 in Big Ten Match Play in Florida. The Buckeyes tied Nebraska in the opening match, but fell in the tiebreaker. They followed up with consecutive 5-1 wins over Wisconsin and Michigan to close the weekend.
• Women’s golf teed off for its spring season Sunday in California at the 2020 Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge. Despite the travel, the Buckeyes are the hosts of the 16-team field. Play is scheduled to continue through Tuesday.
• Ohio State pistol came out on top against Akron and Purdue in the Collegiate Sectionals, hosted in Columbus. The Buckeyes amassed 6,521 points to Purdue’s 5,972 and Akron’s 5,866. Next up, Ohio State travels to West Pointe to face Army and Coast Guard.
• Third-ranked Ohio State fencing is just about ready to start its postseason run, but first had to face a five-team field at the Wayne State duals this weekend. The men’s squad won all four of its matches against Detroit Mercy, Michigan, Michigan State and Wayne State. Next up, the squad is scheduled to host the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships, which open Feb. 22.
• Women’s gymnastics fell to No. 7 Michigan in Ann Arbor Sunday 197.350-195.900. After dropping two-straight, the Buckeyes look to get back on track Friday when they return home to face No. 23 Penn State.
• The fifth-ranked men’s gymnastics team fared somewhat better this weekend at the Southwest Cup, coming in second place behind No. 2 Stanford and ahead of No. 11 Cal and No. 12 Arizona State. Ohio State took the first (and second) place finishes on the floor exercise and pommel horse.
• Ohio State track and field traveled South Bend for the Meyo Invitational this weekend, posting wins in two events along the way. Senior Lainey Studebaker took home the mile title with a personal record 4:48.28, while fellow senior Annie Ubbing ran a 2:10.07 800-meter to earn the event title.
• With baseball season just days away, junior backstop Dillon Dingler was named Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year by Baseball America. The Buckeyes are scheduled to open their season Friday against St. Joseph’s in Port Charlotte, Florida.
• After a decisive early-season run, Ohio State men’s volleyball fell to UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State in Columbus this weekend. With the losses, Ohio State fell to 8-3 on the year. The Buckeyes look to bounce back Thursday when they face Lewis at home.