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2010 Big Ten Men's Tennis Season in Review
June 29, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format The Big Ten men’s tennis season saw five teams, six individuals and four doubles pairs advance to the NCAA Championships, while the Ohio State Buckeyes ran their string of conference championships to five straight. Ohio State advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships, winning the Ohio State Regional and defeating conference rival Wisconsin in the round of 16. The Buckeyes then dropped their next match to eventual national champion Southern California. Wisconsin, winner of the Illinois Regional, was the second conference team to advance to the round of 16. Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota all won their first-round matchups before being eliminated in the second round. In the singles draw, Ohio State’s Chase Buchanan carried the Big Ten torch into the round of 16, before bowing out in the third round. Illinois’ Dennis Nevolo, Ohio State’s Justin Kronauge and Wisconsin’s Marek Michalicka all won first-round matches, while Michigan’s Jason Jung and Wisconsin’s Moritz Baumann were also part of the 64-man field. In doubles, Illinois’ Marek Czerwinski and Nevolo, Michigan’s Jung and Evan King and Ohio State’s Buchanan and Dino Marcan each advanced to the second round, while the Wisconsin pair of Baumann and Michalicka fell to top-seeded Duke in opening round action. Prior to entering the NCAA Championships, Ohio State won its fifth straight Big Ten Tournament title, going along with its fifth-straight conference championship. The Buckeyes finished the Big Ten regular season undefeated and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the postseason tournament. There, Ohio State knocked off No. 9 Northwestern in the quarterfinals, No. 4 Wisconsin in the semifinals and No. 2 Illinois in the championship match, losing just one point over three matches. Following the regular season, the conference office announced its individual award winners. Buchanan was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year, King was honored as Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Ohio State’s Ty Tucker was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. 2010 marked the third straight season a Buckeye has won Athlete of the Year distinction and was Tucker’s fifth consecutive Coach of the Year accolade. Additionally, Buchanan earned All-America honors, while Jung was named the national winner of the ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship.
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