2008 Big Ten Men's Tennis Season in Review

Four Big Ten Student-Athletes Earn All-America Honors; Ohio State finishes record season ranked third nationally

Ohio State's Justin Kronauge played into the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Singles Championship bracket.

Ohio State's Justin Kronauge played into the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Singles Championship bracket.

June 9, 2008

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Six Big Ten men's tennis teams advanced to the 2008 NCAA Championships.  Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin were selected to the field of 64.  In addtion, ten Big Ten student-athletes were chosen to compete in the singles and doubles portion of the event.

The Fighting Illini notched a win in the first round over Xavier, 4-0, before defeating LSU in the second round, 4-2.  In the round of 16, Illinois fell short to Big Ten opponent, Ohio State, 4-3, to end its season.  The Orange and Blue made its 13th-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championships and was seeded No. 15 in this year's event. 

No. 16 Michigan advanced to the round of 16 with wins over Western Michigan and Texas Tech before falling to top-seeded Virginia.  The Wolverines finished the season with a 20-9 record. 

Ohio State, this year's Big Ten Champion, had a record-setting season finishing the year with a 35-2 record.  The 35 wins are the most in OSU men's tennis history.  The No. 2-seeded Buckeyes advanced to the team quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships with sweeps over Cleveland State and Eastern Tennessee State and a 4-3 win over Illinois.  OSU fell to No. 7 Texas, 4-2, to end its season.

Individually, OSU's Justin Kronauge and Steven Moneke advanced to the quarterfinal round of the singles bracket and  Big Ten Player of the Year, Bryan Koniecko, played his way to the round of 16.  In doubles, Koniecko and Moneke advanced to the round of 16 as Drew Eberly and Kronauge played into the quarterfinals.  All four student-athletes were tabbed ITA All-Americans.

In the final ITA poll, Ohio State finished the season ranked third in the country, while Illinois and Michigan finished the year ranked No. 15 and 16, respectively.  Four other Big Ten teams were ranked in the top 60 in Wisconsin (33), Penn State (38), Indiana (42) and Iowa (59).

Nationally, 13 Big Ten student-athletes finished the season ranked in the top 125 singles list and 12 duos are ranked in the top 60 doubles.