SPORT UPDATES
Men's Basketball: CSU continues to be competitive on the floor under first-year head coach Dennis Felton, including six one-possession games this season. Senior Kenny Carpenter tops the team in scoring at 13.5 points, while senior Bobby Word recently reached 1,000 points for his career. Tyree Appleby has had a strong start to his first season of college basketball and has been named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week two times this season
Women's Basketball: The Vikings are off to the best start under 15th year head coach Kate Peterson Abiad with an 11-4 record, including a 3-1 mark in the Horizon League. Junior Ashanti Abshaw is second in the League in scoring at 20.3 points, while Khayla Livingston ranks eighth in scoring (14.1 ppg) and fourth in assists (4.5 apg).
Fencing: The fencing teams have been out of competitive action since November, but have a busy few weeks coming up with two home events. The teams will host the CSU Duals on Jan. 20 followed by the John Szent-Kiraly Open the next day. Both events will take place in Woodling Gym.
Men's Swimming & Diving: The squad has been training after the holiday break and returns to competitive action with events in Busbey Natatorium on Friday and Saturday. The Vikings are making preparations to host the Horizon League Championship from Feb. 21-24.
Women's Swimming & Diving: CSU enjoyed some down time over the holiday break and has been back in the pool preparing for the second part of the season, which begins with dual meets at home this weekend. The Vikings will host the Horizon League Championship from Feb. 21-24.
Women's Indoor Track & Field: The Vikings have competed in just one event this winter, but the schedule picks up with two events in January and three more in February leading up to the Horizon League Championship which runs from Feb. 24-25 in Youngstown.
Wrestling: The EWL schedule picks up for the Vikings as the calendar turns to 2018 as CSU has three League matches in January and three more in February. CSU recently competed in the prestigious Southern Scuffle with junior Evan Cheek placing seventh at 141 pounds as the only unseeded wretler to place in his weight class.
SUPPORT CSU ATHLETICS
Cleveland State University's Department of Athletics provides a broad-based educational experience for student-athletes both on and off the field of play. When you give to CSU athletics, you are making a direct impact on more than 300 student-athletes that proudly represent CSU in sport, scholarship and service. It's investments from donors like you that help our student-athletes reach their full potential. As always, we appreciate your support of CSU athletics.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
To view a list of upcoming events, broadcast information, start times and stat links, please visit the calendar on our website, www.CSUVikings.com.
DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
The Cleveland State Department of Athletics made headlines throughout the month of November on and off the competition field. To view the latest newsworthy stories from CSU Athletics, please visit, STORIFY.
CSU STUDENT-ATHLETES POST STRONG ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Cleveland State student-athletes earned a combined grade point average of 3.247 in the 2017 fall semester, one of the highest semester GPA's in department history.
Our women's teams had a cumulative GPA of 3.409, led by the women's fencing team, which had a 3.972 GPA and the women's golf program who posted a 3.660 GPA as a team. The cumulative GPA of the men's teams was 3.085, highlighted by the men's tennis team, which sported a 3.662 GPA.
A total of 13 out of our 18 sports had cumulative GPA's of 3.0 or higher for the semester.
The consistent level of academic achievement from our student-athletes is a tremendous point of pride. It is a testament to how hard they work in the classroom, as well as the outstanding support they receive from our Student Support Services Division and our academic advisors.
GIVING DAY TO TAKE PLACE ON FEB. 20
The Cleveland State Giving Day will take place on Feb. 20 from 12:00 am until 11:55 pm. This is an online fundraising event for CSU alumni and friends to support specific colleges within the University, athletics or particular programs.
Last year, the Department of Athletics had a strong showing on Giving Day, raising more than $95,000 from 776 donors. Every gift helps enhance the experience of our more than 350 student-athletes in our 18 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports.
Thank you for considering a donation to help CSU athletics on Giving Day.
MOTOR CITY MADNESS TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Tickets for the 2018 Little Caesars Horizon League Men's and Women's Basketball Championship — to be played at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit — are on sale now at HorizonLeague.com, the Little Caesars Arena Box Office, or the Little Caesars Arena Ticket Sales and Service Office (313-471-7575). Fans can also purchase tickets by calling or visiting CSU's Motor City Madness box office.
Ticket prices for Motor City Madness, which will take place March 2-6, begin at $15 per day and will feature all 20 Horizon League teams competing in 18 games over a five-day span. The tournament will culminate with a pair of championship games on Tuesday, March 6 with automatic berths to the NCAA Basketball Tournament on the line. Tickets purchased for each day are valid for all games on that day.
We hope to see you in Detroit to cheer on the men's and women's basketball teams as they begin March Madness.
HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY ON FEB. 3
The 41st Cleveland State Athletics Hall of Fame Class will be inducted on Saturday (Feb. 3) at an 11:30 am ceremony in the Wolstein Center. The group will also be recognized at halftime of the men's basketball game later that afternoon.
This year's class includes women's tennis standout Sarah Galon, former women's cross country and track athlete Christine Myeroff (Kohler), women's golfer Kristen Obush and former men's golf standout Jake Scott.
The event will begin with a reception at 11:30 am followed by a luncheon at 12:00 pm. The induction ceremony will take place at 1:00 pm.
To read more about this year's four honorees, please click here.
For more information or to register for the event, please call 216-687-4848.
GINA KILNER EARNS ALL-REGION HONORS
Cleveland State volleyball senior setter Gina Kilner earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-Northeast Region accolades for her play on the court during the 2017 season. Kilner helped the Vikings win the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
Kilner, who was named the 2017 Horizon League Setter of the Year, was a major part of Cleveland State's success this year, leading the Viking offense with 1,262 total assists. For the season, Kilner averaged 10.79 assists per set, and helped the Vikings to a .251 hitting percentage as a team – just the third time in program history that Cleveland State finished with a .250 clip or better.
As a First Team All-Horizon League selection, Kilner also posted 174 kills, 227 digs and 49 total blocks on the season. Kilner tallied 10 double-doubles throughout the year, while also recording her first-ever triple-double against IUPUI with 46 assists, 14 digs and 10 kills.
DECEMBER AWARDS & HONORS
The following student-athletes earned honors in December…
AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region
Gina Kilner
Horizon League Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week
Tyree Appleby (2x)
Horizon League Men's Swimmer of the Week
D.J. Arslenian
Horizon League Men's Diver of the Week
Curtis Roden
Horizon League Women's Swimmer of the Week
Lexie Kostelnik
Horizon League Women's Diver of the Week
Erica Henrichsen
NCAA Division I Men's Soccer All-Ohio
Alec Nagucki & Noah Pio
NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Academic All-Ohio
McKenna Vento & Toni Dickson
NCAA Division I Women's Soccer All-Ohio
McKenna Vento & Aliani Lorenzo
