OSU pulls out NCAA win on Di Feo’s singles rally
Hugo Di Feo is in only his second year of playing tennis for Ohio State, but this is his final year of eligibility.
The Montreal native delayed his enrollment as a Buckeye after high school graduation longer than NCAA rules deem acceptable for Canadian players to retain fouryear eligibility. That has given Di Feo an added sense of urgency for the NCAA championships, and in the quarterfinals on Saturday, he proved clutch.
Di Feo rallied in the third set to defeat Texas Christian’s Guillermo Nunez 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 singles to give the Buckeyes a dramatic 4-3 victory in Athens, Georgia.
It was the second straight match in which Ohio State threaded the needle to advance. The Buckeyes needed a three-set victory by No. 2 JJ Wolf to survive against Oklahoma on Thursday.
“I knew coming in that it was going to be a very difficult match,” Di Feo said. “He’s a very talented player. I knew it was going to go down to the wire. My coaches emphasized that my match was probably going to be the deciding one.
“I got outplayed in first set, and in the second and third I tried to stay patient. In the end, I got a little lucky. But I kept fighting.”
The third-seeded Buckeyes (33-3) will play second-seeded Virginia in the semifinals at noon Monday.
It is the first time Ohio State has advanced to the semis since 2013 and fourth overall. Virginia defeated visiting Ohio State 4-1 in the finals of the ITA National Indoor Team Championships in February.
Di Feo fell behind 2-4 in the third set and won the deuce point in the no-ad scoring system used in college to tie the match at 4-4. He fell behind love-40 on his serve in the next game before winning four straight points.
Di Feo then won three of the first four points on Nunez’s serve. Nunez saved one match point but hit a forehand wide on a let cord on the next point to send the Buckeyes into celebration.
“Down 4-2 in the third, he kept the fight up and went for his shots,” Ohio State coach Ty Tucker said. “It was nice to see his courage under fire.
“He was able to hit big shots when most people would have been playing not to lose. He played to win.”
Di Feo said he noticed that Nunez was beginning to falter physically, and assistant coach Justin Kronauge encouraged him to stay aggressive, which hasn’t always come naturally.
“I used to be very tentative and waited for guys to miss,” Di Feo said.
Di Feo, ranked ninth nationally, lost his singles match against Oklahoma and was thrilled to be the difference-maker against TCU.
“Not to do it for myself personally, but for the team,” he said. “I love these guys. It’s unreal.”
The Buckeyes won the doubles point when Mikael Torpegaard and Herkko Pollanen prevailed 8-6 in a tiebreak after Ohio State and TCU split the other sets.
But in singles, Wolf lost in straight sets and Torpegaard at No. 1 and Martin Joyce at No. 4 lost in three sets.
The Buckeyes got victories from Pollanen at No. 5 and Kyle Seelig at No. 6. Both are undefeated in the NCAA tournament.
“They’re kind of the unsung heroes because they get the points on the board early and then let someone else win it late with drama,” Tucker said.
On Saturday, that someone was Di Feo.