Big Ten Tournament Update: Quarterfinals

Photo by Kirk Irwin

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The second day of the Big Ten Men's Tennis Tournament saw quarterfinal matches narrow the field down to four teams. Rain caused all four matches to be played indoors at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center.

The top four seeds — Ohio State, UCLA, Michigan State and Washington respectively – earned berths into tomorrow's semifinals. Ohio State will host Washington at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, followed by UCLA and Michigan State at 2 p.m.

Ohio State advanced with a come-from-behind 4-3 win over Illinois. Illinois claimed the double point and led 3-2 before OSU rallied, securing match point with Jack Anthrop's win at No. 3 singles. In the process, OSU won its 75th-consecutive match at home.

In a match between teams tied in the standings and ranked back-to-back in the ITA poll, No. 39 Washington prevailed over No. 40 Nebraska, 4-3.

The three-hour match was decided when Soham Purohit registered a three-set win at No. 3 singles. The result marked the second win for Washington (17-7) over Nebraska this season by identical scores.

No. 22-ranked UCLA won its Big Ten Tournament debut with a 4-1 decision over No. 28 Michigan. Spencer Johnson, ranked 32nd in the country, dropped just two games in his singles match as the Bruins (14-9) extended their win streak to six matches.

In the final match of the night, Michigan State pinned a 4-2 loss on USC. Michigan State (16-8) earned the doubles point, and despite dropping matches at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, received three more wins from its lineup to extend its stay in Columbus.