The No. 3 team in the country proved to be too tough for the No. 37 Gophers. 

Minnesota lost to Ohio State 4-1 on the Saturday morning of the semifinals of Big Ten championships. The tournament took place on Iowa’s campus in Iowa City. Senior Felix Corwin was the lone bright spot in the dual that featured plenty of close matches but not enough victories for Minnesota.

Corwin, ranked No. 79, defeated the No. 5 ranked player in the country Mikael Torpegaard 6-3, 6-4 after previously losing to him earlier in the season in three sets.

The Buckeye’s took the doubles point in quick fashion. The No. 54 ranked duo of Torpegaard and John McNally defeated Matic Spec and Eli Ogilvy 6-0 in the No. 2 spot. In the No. 1 spot, the Buckeyes clinched the doubles point with a victory over Corwin and Josip Krstanovic 6-2. 

“Obviously, Ohio State is a really good team, and they played the big points well,” head coach Geoff Young said.

Corwin’s victory tied the dual at 1-1, but from there, Ohio State pulled away.

Marino Alpeza lost in the No. 6 spot 3-6, 4-6. In the No. 2 spot, Spec, ranked No. 90, battled J.J. Wolf, who was ranked No. 40 in singles. Spec lost 6-7, 5-7. 

The clinching match came from the No. 4 spot. No. 95 Kyle Seelig of Ohio State defeated Krstanovic in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. 

Gophers avenge early season loss to Indiana

After losing 5-2 earlier in the season to No. 43 Indiana, Minnesota advanced to the Big Ten semifinals. 

The Gophers beat the Hoosiers 4-1 on Friday morning in Iowa City. After Minnesota took the doubles point from the Hoosiers, they earned three more victories in singles play to clinch the dual. 

“We played in different conditions than the last time we played them … we did a better job with our doubles,” Young said. 

In the No. 1 doubles spot, Corwin and Krstanovic didn’t drop a game on their way to a 6-0 victory. Minnesota clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 victory from the No. 3 spot, made up of Milicevic and Alpeza.

Alpeza kept the momentum built up from the clinching doubles victory in his singles match. He won 7-5, 6-2 to extend Minnesota’s lead to 2-0. Milicevic followed suit, winning 6-1, 6-4. 

The Hoosiers got one point back after Spec lost 4-6, 5-7 in the No. 2 spot, ending his nine-match winning streak. 

The Gophers got the clinching point from Corwin, who defeated the No. 111-ranked player, Raheel Manji, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The Gophers will wait to see if they make the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is on Tuesday.