For the first time since 2007, the Bulldogs are back in the NCAA Tournament. Play begins Friday in Columbus, Ohio, as Butler drew No. 3 overall seed Ohio State in the first round.
Joining the Buckeyes and Bulldogs in Columbus will be UCF and Louisville, who will kick off the action Friday at 11 a.m. Ohio State and Butler will follow with the second match of the day, slated to begin at 2 p.m. The winners will face off on Saturday at 3 p.m., with the winner advancing to the round of 16 in Athens, Ga.
Aviv Ben Shabat will serve in the No. 1 singles position, where he is 10-6 on the spring.
Mason Dragos is on the second court, having posted a 6-3 record this spring to go along with a 10-3 mark at No. 3.
Mikheil Khmiadashvili, who earned "Most Outstanding Player" honors at the 2017 BIG EAST Tournament, will play No. 3.
Spencer Lang, Lope Adelakun and
Ari Gerstein round out the Butler 6. In a change from BIG EAST Tournament play, senior
Alex Woldmoe will move into the line-up at No. 3 doubles.
Butler earned its bid by winning the BIG EAST title two weekends ago. The Bulldogs are 18-5 on the season after winning three straight 4-3 decisions to take the conference tournament championship. The 2000 Bulldogs posted a 19-7 record in spring dual match play.
One of Butler's five losses came at the hands of the Buckeyes on Jan. 24. Ohio State won that match, 4-0. This will be the second meeting between the two teams in the NCAA Championship as the Buckeyes won 4-0 in the opening round in 2006.
The Buckeyes are 29-3 this season and claimed their 12
th-straight regular season crown and their 12
th Big Ten Tournament title. OSU has won nine matches against top-20 ranked team this season and are the only program in the country to boost two players in the top-10 of the ITA singles rankings as well as two teams in the top-30 of the doubles rankings.
Live scoring is available for the match. If the matches are moved inside due to weather, Ohio State will provide video feeds for all courts.
Schedule
Friday, May 12
11 a.m. – Louisville vs. UCF
2 p.m. – Ohio State vs. Butler
Saturday, May 13
3 p.m. – advancing teams
