Hoosiers fall to Buckeyes in Big Ten Tournament

The push for hardware for IU Coach Randy Bloemendaal’s team will likely have to wait another year after a battle with a familiar opponent ended in familiar fashion.

No. 27 Indiana (23-9, 7-4) was unable to maintain a rare early lead against No. 3 Ohio State in Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament semifinal between the conference rivals, falling
4-1 and faltering in its drive for a tournament championship.

The Hoosiers, who lost to the Buckeyes (31-3, 11-0) for the third time this season, had their progress in the competition halted tantalizingly close to the finals for the second consecutive year.  

The Hoosiers appeared to have learned from this past season’s disappointment — a 4-0 defeat to Minnesota — at this stage, as they seized the initial momentum and took the doubles point when both the No. 2 and No. 3 Hoosier tandems beat their Buckeye counterparts.  

The Hoosiers became the third team all season to pry the opening tally from OSU and were rewarded with a 1-0 lead entering singles play.

Once action resumed, though, the Buckeyes quickly reasserted themselves and made headway reversing the deficit, storming out to commanding leads at the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 6 spots.

In those initial stanzas, the Hoosiers struggled to keep pace with OSU’s lineup, which was comprised entirely of players ranked in the ITA Top 125. Only Vogl, the hero in Friday’s 4-3 quarterfinal win against Minnesota, was able to overcome his Buckeye opponent in the first set.

Capitalizing on the leads they had garnered, the Buckeyes rolled to an overall 2-1 lead through a pair of triumphs at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. At the top of the lineup, junior Isade Juneau was dispatched by No. 11 Chase Buchanan 6-1, 6-2.

Langer, who had managed to take only one first-set game from No. 67 Peter Kobelt, went toe-to-toe with his opponent for much of the second stanza, even grabbing a 4-3 lead midway through the set.

It was at that crucial juncture that Langer’s late-season struggles at the No. 3 spot returned to haunt him. The senior and Toronto native dropped the next three games, surrendering the match 6-1, 6-4.

Suddenly trailing 3-1, the Hoosiers found themselves ensconced in an unenviable position, as they needed wins in each of the remaining three matches to avoid losing to the Buckeyes for the third time this season.

For a second, it looked as though the stars would at least be given a chance to align for the cream and crimson. The narrow path to an improbable upset appeared to broaden, if only slightly, when sophomore Dimitrije Tasic seized a late-set lead against No. 105 Connor Smith in the battle at No. 6.

If Tasic, who had lost the first set 6-1, could push the encounter to a third frame, he would join Vogl and Kendall in a trio of tense affairs at the bottom of a lineup that would ultimately decide the outcome.  

Visions of victory vanished instantly, though, when Smith fought his way back into the set and overcame the Serbian sophomore in a tiebreak.

He vanquished Tasic 6-1, 7-6, to register the final point of the match and clinch an overall 4-1 triumph, advancing the Buckeyes to Sunday’s championship match for the seventh straight year.

Despite the loss, the Hoosiers look primed for another appearance as the recipients of an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament whose selection show is slated to air at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday on NCAA.com.