Michigan
Ohio State
Michigan Falls at No. 1 Ohio State
3/13/2026 9:19:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Columbus, Ohio (Ty Tucker Tennis Center)
Score: #1 Ohio State 4, Michigan 0
Records: U-M (5-6, 1-2 B1G), OSU (14-2, 2-0 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 16 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa), Noon
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team lost a 4-0 match to No. 1-ranked Ohio State on Friday evening (March 13) at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center.
With all three Ohio State doubles pairs ranked in the ITA, Michigan (5-6, 1-2 Big Ten) started the match with a challenge. Bjorn Swenson and Nicholas Steiglehner had an impressive 5-0 record during the fall season and were paired back up today at No. 2 doubles. However, the No. 15-ranked duo of Alex Okonkwo and Alexander Bernard was too much, handing the duo its first loss, 6-3.
At No. 3, Mert Oral and Alex Cairo fell 6-3 to the No. 18-ranked pair of Bryce Nakashima and Aidan Kim, which gave OSU an early 1-0 advantage in the team match.
The undefeated duo of Max Dahlin and Pierce Shaya went point-for-point with the No. 1-ranked duo of Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin before the match was halted with the Buckeyes securing the doubles point.
In singles, the Buckeyes (14-2, 2-0 Big Ten) won five of six first sets.
At No. 1 singles, No. 10 Dahlin took the edge over No. 6 Kim with a 6-4 win in the opening set. Dahlin broke Kim at 4-3 and consolidated the break to push ahead 5-3 before finishing the set 6-4. Dahlin had match point in the second set as he led 5-3 and the game at 40-40, but Kim held serve and held off Dahlin to push within one, 5-4. The momentum carried as Kim won the next three games to win the match 7-5 and force a third set. The third set was abandoned with Kim up 2-0.
OSU earned wins at the bottom of the lineup, at Nos. 4, 5 and 6 to clinch the match.
Michigan begins a four-match road swing next Friday (March 20) when it heads to Champaign to face Illinois at the Atkins Tennis Center. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 – No. 10 Max Dahlin (U-M) vs. No. 6 Aidan Kim (Ohio State), 6-4, 5-7, 0-2 abandoned
No. 2 – No. 22 Jack Anthrop (Ohio State) vs. No. 60 Bjorn Swenson (U-M), 7-6 (4), 4-3 abandoned
No. 3 – No. 19 Preston Stearns (Ohio State) vs. Mert Oral (U-M), 7-5, 4-3 abandoned
No. 4 – No. 124 Bryce Nakashima (Ohio State) d. Nicholas Steiglehner (U-M), 6-4, 6-0
No. 5 – No. 93 Nikita Filin (Ohio State) d. Arnav Bhandari (U-M), 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 – Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) d. Pierce Shaya (U-M), 7-5, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 – No. 1 Brandon Carpico/Nikita Filin (Ohio State) vs. Max Dahlin/Pierce Shaya (U-M), 6-5 abandoned
No. 2 – No. 15 Alex Okonkwo/Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) d. Bjorn Swenson/Nicholas Steiglehner (U-M), 6-3
No. 3 – No. 18 Bryce Nakashima/Aidan Kim (Ohio State) d. Mert Oral/Alex Cairo (U-M), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3, Singles 5-4-6
Players Mentioned
