A look at what's happening in Cleveland State Athletics...
Men's Swim & Dive
-Cleveland State closed its season this past weekend by competing in a pair of events, including hosting the National Invitational Championship.
-Sophomore Timothy Kubacki scored in all three of his individual events at the NIC, including a top-10 showing in the 400 IM.
-Sophomore Matt Akers qualified for the 1-meter final at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships and finished seven spots away from NCAA Championships qualification.
Women's Swim & Dive
-Cleveland State closed its season this past weekend by hosting the National Invitational Championship.
-Sophomore Alana Cartwright was the lone Viking female to compete for CSU.
-Cartwright scored in the 100 IM, finishing in 58.25 seconds.
Fencing
-Cleveland State will host the 2019 NCAA Championships this week inside the Wolstein Center.
-The men's competition will take place Thursday and Friday (March 21-22) while women's champions will be decided Saturday and Sunday (March 23-24).
-One hundred forty four athletes from 26 schools will be competing in the event.
Lacrosse
-Cleveland State (4-5) returns home for the first time in over a month as it welcomes No. 1 Penn State this Saturday, March 23, at Noon.
-The Vikings split a pair of games this past week, claiming a 10-9 win at Lafayette and dropping a 15-9 decision at nationally ranked North Carolina.
-In the contest against the Leopards, CSU rallied from a three-goal deficit with under six minutes to play to claim the win.
Women's Tennis
-Cleveland State (6-7) will begin Horizon League play on the road this weekend, traveling to Milwaukee on Saturday, March 23 and Green Bay on Sunday, March 24.
-Last time out, the Vikings picked up their fifth shutout of the season, earning a 4-0 victory at Kennesaw State to wrap up their annual Spring Break Trip.
-Earlier this season, Cleveland State was selected to finish fourth in the #HLWTEN Preseason Poll.
Men's Tennis
-The Vikings (10-7) will continue their current four-match roadswing this weekend, traveling to Green Bay on Sunday, March 24 to begin Horizon League play.
-Cleveland State capped off its annual Spring Break Trip with a 4-3 victory at Kennesaw State last time out, and has now recorded double-digit wins in 16 of head coach Brian Etzkin's 17 seasons at the helm.
-Earlier this season, the Vikings were selected as the #HLMTEN Preseason Favorite, picked to defend their Horizon League Tournament title.
Men's Golf
-Cleveland State will be out of action until early April, returning to the course at the Spring Wildcat Invitational on April 8 and 9.
-Last time out, the Vikings participated in the USF Invitational in Tampa, Fla. with Anton Krecic recording Cleveland State's highest team finish (T-48th) and Zak Supelak finishing T-38th as an individual.
Women's Golf
-The Vikings will be continuing play at the MSU Citrus Challenge this week, with round two on Monday, March 18 and round three on Tuesday, March 19.
-Cleveland State finished round one yesterday in sixth place, led by Kaylee Neumeister who recorded a two-over par 74, tied for ninth place heading into day two.
Outdoor Track & Field
-The Vikings will take the week off from competition and return to action at the Fred Hardy Invitational Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30.
-Cleveland State opened the outdoor season at the 49er Classic last weekend, setting four individual records and one relay record.
-Hannah Gaskins recorded Cleveland State's highest finish at the 49er Classic, placing fourth overall in the High Jump with a program record tying mark of 1.63.
Softball
-Cleveland State (6-16) will begin Horizon League play this week, traveling to preseason favorite UIC for a three-game series on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23.
-Last time out, the Vikings participated in the Bears Classic Tournament at Mercer, picking up a 1-0 win against Connecticut in the weekend finale.
-Hanna Griffin pitched her first career shutout in the win over Connecticut, going 8.0 innings and striking out six.
This Week's Schedule
Monday, March 18
Women's Golf at MSU Citrus Challenge – All day
Tuesday, March 19
Women's Golf at MSU Citrus Challenge – All day
Thursday, March 21
Fencing hosts NCAA Championships – All day
Friday, March 22
Fencing hosts NCAA Championships – All day
Softball at UIC – 5 PM
Saturday, March 23
Fencing hosts NCAA Championships – All day
Lacrosse hosts Penn State – 12 PM
Softball at UIC – 2 PM/4 PM
Women's Tennis at Milwaukee – 2 PM
Sunday, March 24
Fencing hosts NCAA Championships – All day
Women's Tennis at Green Bay – 1 PM
Men's Tennis at Green Bay – 4:30 PM
Viking Of The Week
Matt Akers, Men's Swim & Dive
Sophomore Matt Akers qualified for the men's 1-meter final at the NCAA Zone Championships after advancing through the preliminary portion of the event. Akers finished 16th in the 1-meter prelims with 298.65 points, the most by any athlete that did not hail from a Power Five school. Akers' score was over 50 points higher than his 1-meter prelims score from last year's NCAA Zones meet. Akers finished 18th in the 1-meter final at the Zones Championships, just seven spots away from earning an NCAA Championships berth.
Other Top Performers
Alanna Cartwright, Women's Swim & Dive
Timothy Kubacki, Men's Swim & Dive
Matthew Terry, Men's Tennis
Isabella Spindler, Women's Tennis
Hanna Griffin, Softball
Anna Brandt, Track & Field
Danny Tesler, Lacrosse