Completed Event: Men's Tennis versus Alabama on March 22, 2026 , Win , 4, to, 0
Final
Men's Tennis
4
vs Alabama
0
.png&width=40&height=40&type=webp)
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Friday, March 6
Columbus, Ohio
5:00 PM
University of Oklahoma
4
at
3
Ohio State
Sooners Snap Buckeyes' Epic Home Win Streak
March 06, 2015 | Men's Tennis
No. 8 Ohio State
3
4
No. 1 Oklahoma
That was one of the best tennis matches I've ever been a part of. To win four singles in here after dropping the doubles point shows that we have an incredibly tough group.
Head Coach John Roddick
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The top-ranked Oklahoma men's tennis team snapped eighth-ranked Ohio State's 200-match home winning streak with a 4-3 win Friday night in Columbus in front of a record crowd of 713.
OU is the first team to win in Columbus since then-No. 1 Illinois topped the Buckeyes 5-2 on April 5, 2003. The Buckeyes' streak stands as the all-time collegiate varsity sport record. During that streak, Ohio State won nine Big 10 regular season championships, eight Big 10 Tournament championships, claimed the 2014 ITA National Indoor title and finished as the NCAA Runner-up in 2009.
“That was one of the best tennis matches I've ever been a part of,” head coach John Roddick said. “To win four singles in here after dropping the doubles point shows that we have an incredibly tough group.”
The Sooners dug an early hole, giving up the doubles point after losses at No. 1 and 3 doubles. After dropping a point at No. 4 singles, the Sooners got wins from sophomore Alex Ghilea, and junior Axel Alvarez that evened the match at 2-all.
The Buckeyes took a point on court one to lead 3-2, but senior Dane Webb overcame a first set loss to take his match and even things at 3-all. With the match knotted up, all eyes turned to court six, where sophomore Florin Bragusi was entering a third set with Kevin Metka.
In what might have been the dual of the year, Bragusi and Metka's match did not disappoint. The players split the first two sets, Bragusi taking the first, with both ending in a tiebreaker.
With play approaching three hours, and with the third set tied at 2-all, Metka was forced to take a medical timeout to get treatment for cramping. Both players would hold serve for the rest of the set, and fittingly, it all came down to a tiebreak. The duo continued to hold serve in the extra frame, until Bragusi came up with the winning point. Leading 6-5 in the breaker Bragusi was back to receive the serve of Metka. A fault forced Metka to a second serve; one that Bragusi ripped back to take the set and deliver the win for Oklahoma.
”Florin stepped up in a fantastic environment and showed what he's made of,” Roddick said. “I couldn't be more proud of that mental effort. I would also like to say how impressed with Metka I was. He played really well and competed great.”
Florin stepped up in a fantastic environment and showed what he's made of. I couldn't be more proud of that mental effort.
Head Coach John Roddick
Ghilea delivered the first point of the night for OU. The sophomore from Neamt, Romania continued his impressive play with a win in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-3, over No. 106 Hunter Callahan. Ghilea is now 9-1 in dual play.
The Sooners' second point of the night came on court two where Alvarez dispatched No. 43 Chris Diaz 6-2, 7-5. Alvarez is an undefeated 12-0 in dual play, and 7-1 against ranked opponents. His 12 wins are a team-high.
On court three, Webb dropped the first set of his match with No. 78 Herkko Pollanen, but rallied to force a third set when he took a second-set tiebreaker. In the deciding frame, Webb cruised to a 6-1 win that evened the dual at 3-all for OU.
Bragusi's 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 win moves him to 4-0 in dual play, and is his third three-set win this season. Bragusi and Alvarez are the only Sooners with at least two starts to be unbeaten in dual play.
The Sooners dropped matches at No. 1 and No. 4 singles. At No. 1, sophomore Andrew Harris lost just his third match of the year and his second to a ranked opponent when he fell to No. 36 Mikael Torpegaard 7-5, 4-6, 4-6. Freshman Spencer Papa dropped his match with No. 73 Ralf Steinbach 2-6, 2-6.
The Sooners got just one win in doubles. At No 2 doubles Ghilea and Harris paired to take down Pollanen and Torpegaard 6-3 and claim their third win of the year.
At No. 1, Webb and Alvarez dropped just their second match of the year, falling to the fourth-ranked duo of Metka and Steinbach. Ranked No. 6, Alvarez and Webb are now 11-2 in dual play with six wins over ranked opponents.
In the number three spot, Papa and junior Austin Siegel took their first loss of the year, falling to No. 40 Diaz and Callahan 2-6. Siegel and Papa are now 2-1 on the season.
Oklahoma has lost the doubles point in six matches this season, but has won five of those. The Sooners' lost the doubles point in their lone loss of the year at Texas A&M.
The win moves the Sooners to 3-2 all-time against the Buckeyes. The Sooners other win over OSU came last season when OU bested the then-No. 1 ranked Buckeyes 4-3, and as a result earned their first ever No. 1 ranking.
OU is now 13-1 on the season and boasts and undefeated 13-0 record indoors. The Sooners have won eight games against opponents ranked in the top-25 and claimed the 2015 ITA National Indoor Championship. Oklahoma is back in action Tuesday, March 10 when it return home to host the 12th-ranked Cavaliers of Virginia at 5 p.m. As always, admission is free.
For more information on Oklahoma Men's Tennis, follow the team on Twitter at @OU_MTennis.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
#4 Metka/Steinbach def. #6 Webb/Alvarez 6-4
#52 Harris/Ghilea def. Pollanen/Torpegaard 6-3
#40 Diaz/Callahan def. Papa/Siegel 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
SINGLES
#36 Mikael Torpegaard def. #12 Andrew Harris 7-5, 4-6, 4-6
#7 Axel Alvarez def. Chris Diaz 6-2, 7-5
#18 Dane Webb def. #78 Herkko Pollanen 3-6, 7-6, 6-1
#73 Ralf Steinbach def. Spencer Papa 6-2, 6-2
#56 Alex Ghilea def. #106 Hunter Callahan 6-3, 6-3
Florin Bragusi def. Kevin Metka 7-6, 6-7, 7-6
Order of finish: 4, 5, 2, 1, 3, 6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Saturday, March 30
Thursday, March 28
Saturday, March 23
Thursday, March 21
