UF Wins Silver, Cinderella Ohio State Wins Gold at ‘Tennis on Campus’ Nationals

Unheralded Ohio State University won the 2018 USTA ‘Tennis on Campus’ National Championships over the weekend, in the final defeating the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 27-13 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.

Coming off a rebuilding season where they last year failed to qualify for the national championships, Ohio State this year finished third in the USTA Midwest Section standings and were not considered a tournament favorite, even by their own admission.

“I was hoping for [a] Top 10 [finish],” said senior and Ohio State Club Tennis President Izzi Nejedlik. “But Top 1? I never imagined that. It’s the best ending to my club tennis career.”

It was a rare year that no Florida team made it out of round robin play into the Gold Bracket at nationals. The University of Miami finished second in their round robin pool to the University of Maryland, while the former national champion University of Florida Gators finished second in their pool to North Carolina State University. Florida went on to win the Silver Bracket, defeating Miami in the semifinals and San Diego State in the final.

The runner-up UNC-Chapel Hill, a team loaded with six seniors, also finished runner-up in 2016. They had previously reached the final in 2000-01 when they won titles in the first two years of the Tennis on Campus National Championships.

The Ohio State team featured seven freshmen or sophomores and will be loaded for another run at the championship next season. It was the second consecutive title for the Big Ten Conference after the University of Michigan raised the trophy last year.

“It’s crazy, just the fact that Ohio State didn’t qualify last year and then to come up with this result is just absolutely insane,” said the Buckeyes’ Noah Stern. “We knew we could go really far, but I don’t know if anyone thought we could get the whole thing done.”

USTA Tennis On Campus Manager Newlyn Wing said the popularity of the season-ending competition for college club tennis players was evident.

“Seeing the teams spend time with each other and seeing teams from all over the country becoming best friends as the week goes on, it’s always the best part despite all the competition,” Wing said. “You can see from the broadcast, and from everything from Instagram to the live stream, how passionate these players are and how we have to keep them in the game for life.”

To read more go to www.tennisoncampus.com/News/Ohio_State_tops_UNC_to_win_first_ever_National_Championship.htm.

USTA Tennis On Campus
National Championship Finals History

2018 — Ohio State University d. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
2017 — University of Michigan d. University of California-Irvine
2016 — Auburn University d. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
2015 — University of California-Berkeley d. University of Minnesota
2014 — University of California-Berkeley d. University of Florida
2013 — University of Georgia d. University of Florida
2012 — University of California-Berkeley d. University of Virginia
2011 — UCLA d. University of Florida
2010 — University of California-Berkeley d. University of Florida
2009 — Duke University d. University of Wisconsin
2008 — University of Texas-Austin d. University of California-Berkeley
2007 — Texas A&M University d. University of Virginia
2006 — Texas A&M University d. University of Virginia
2005 — Texas A&M University d. University of Texas
2004 — Texas A&M University d. University of Virginia
2003 — University of Florida d. Texas A&M University
2002 — Texas A&M University d. University of Texas
2001 — University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill d. University of Texas
2000 — University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill d. University of Texas