Preview courtesy of Buffalo's Athletic Communications Department
BUFFALO, NY - The 2026 Mid-American Conference Champion University at Buffalo men's tennis team will play Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. The match is scheduled to start at 1pm at the Auer Tennis Complex. The winners of the first-round matches Friday will meet at 4 p.m. Saturday in the second round.
This is the second straight and third overall time the Bulls and Buckeyes are squaring off in the NCAA Tournament, with the previous matchups coming in the 2025 and 2015 NCAA Tournament first round.
Buffalo enters the national tournament with an impressive resume as UB is 16-6 on the season and went 8-2 in MAC play, winning the regular season conference title for the second straight year, and then picked up two more wins in the conference tournament, claiming the tournament title in back-to-back years for the first time in program history.
The Bulls, owners of 114 singles victories, have presented a balanced attack with all six players in the lineup recording double digit win totals in singles play this season. Senior
Faiz Nasyam leads the team with 21 wins while juniors
Minjae Kim and
Onder Balci sit just behind him with 19 and 17 victories, respectively. Graduate student
Clement Mainguy is riding a seven-match win streak, including a pair of big wins in the MAC tournament.
In doubles action,
Theodoros Mitsakos and Mainguy have paced the Bulls with 14 wins, including an 12-3 mark at the first position, and won MAC Doubles Team of the Week honors a league-best five times. Seniors Emiliana Jorquera and Nasyam have also reached double-digits as a duo with 10 wins.
Ohio State is 29-4 on the season, including a 12-1 record in Big Ten play which earned the Buckeyes a 20th-consecutive Big Ten regular-season title and their 23rd overall. Senior Jack Anthrop and junior Aidan Kim were named to the All-Big Ten First Team while Preston Stearns and Nikita Filin earned second team All-Big Ten honors. Kim and Filin were named to the All-Big Ten Tournament team as well.
Matches are set to be played outside at the Auer Tennis Complex. In the event of inclement weather, play will be moved inside the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. Admission and parking will be free for all NCAA matches in Columbus.
