OSU doubles team loses heartbreaker in final

For the second time in six days, Ohio State got to the cusp of a men’s tennis national championship, only to suffer a heartbreaking loss.

Last Tuesday, the Buckeyes fell to host Wake Forest in the finals of the NCAA team tournament. On Monday, Ohio State’s Mikael Torpegaard and Martin Joyce lost in the doubles final 6-7, 7-6, 11-9 to UCLA’s Martin Redlicki and Evan Zhu in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Torpegaard and Joyce had a championship point in the super tiebreaker at 9-8, but after a long rally, the Bruins hit a shot that brushed the line for a winner.

“They hit a ball we thought was going out and let it go,” Ohio State coach Ty Tucker said. “The umpire said it touched the back of the line.”

The Bruins won the next two points — match point on a service winner — to win the title.

“I feel bad for the guys,” Tucker said. “They put a lot into the season and worked their tails off and set themselves up to become national champions for Ohio State. It has such a nice ring to it — national champions for Ohio State.

“I know they wanted it very badly. The match has been over for 90 minutes and they still haven’t said a word.”

Ohio State won the first-set tiebreak 10-8 after losing a 5-0 lead and surviving a set point. UCLA won the second-set tiebreak 7-4 to send the match to a super tiebreak, which goes to the first team to win 10 points with a margin of at least two.

Torpegaard and Joyce were hoping to join 2012 winners Blaz Rola and Chase Buchanan as NCAA doubles champions for Ohio State.

Torpegaard and Joyce made the NCAA run despite not having played together since April 8. Tucker split them up to provide more experience throughout the doubles lineup. But they clicked when reunited for the NCAA doubles.

The loss ends Torpegaard’s stellar career at Ohio State. The Denmark native was a national finalist in 2016 in singles. He also lost to the eventual champion in the third round last year and in the quarterfinals this year. Wake Forest’s Petros Chrysochos defeated Torpegaard 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2) on his way to beating teammate Borna Gojo in the finals on Monday.

“Torpegaard is in the conversation of being one of the best to ever play for the Buckeyes,” Tucker said. “Torp brought the fight every time. He was a highly competitive guy who hated to lose more than he loved to win.”

Joyce, a junior from Hinsdale, Illinois, was 31-8 in singles, primarily at Nos. 5 and 6. He will have a chance for an expanded role next year.

“Martin will be a leader and a captain,” Tucker said. “I look for Martin to be an unbelievable lower-lineup player and AllAmerican in doubles. He got a taste of the big-time the last two weeks, and this taste he got might compel him to be a top-of-thelineup player.”