Contact: Renee Adam
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WESTLAKE, Ohio - The Cleveland State men's tennis team had an excellent performance in its Horizon League opener Sunday afternoon, defeating Detroit, 7-0. The Vikings are now 4-9 overall this season and 1-0 in league play.
"I thought our doubles was very good today, even with two new teams in the lineup," head coachBrian Etzkin said. "I was encouraged by the performances from all three of our doubles teams and they were all able to get a break early and get the matches under control which doesn't happen very often. In singles, Matt Kuelker, Nolan and Joe all got quick first set victories to continue the momentum for us and one of the clinching moments of the match was when Jorg and Niklas each won their first sets in tiebreakers. The difference in the match today was that we were able to finish all of the singles matches, including the close ones. It was good to open league play with a win and show some progress with the 7-0 win compared to last season's scores against Detroit."
Cleveland State dominated doubles play against the Titans, earning victories in all three doubles matches. The No. 1 duo of Ali Shabib and Niklas Jonsson improved its spring record to 6-3 with an 8-3 win, while the Vikings had new tandems playing at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Matt Kuelker and Nolan Marks picked up an 8-5 win at the No. 2 spot, and Jorg van der Vloet and Joe VanMeterposted an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles.
The Vikings were then able to continue the momentum, picking up quick straight set victories at No. 5 and No. 2 singles. Marks starting things off with a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 5 singles, while Kuelker posted his team-leading 12th singles win of the season with a 6-2, 6-4 decision at the No. 2 spot. Cleveland State was able to clinch the match with a victory at No. 6 singles, as VanMeter posted a 6-2, 7-6 (5) win.
CSU's next singles victory came from van der Vloet at the No. 1 spot, as he posted a 7-6 (7), 6-2 victory, while Shabib picked up 3-6, 6-4, 5-4 win at No. 3 singles after his opponent retired because of an injury. Jonsson posted the final win of the day for the Vikings, earning a tough three set victory at No. 4 singles, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-5.
Next weekend the Vikings will travel to Duquesne on Friday (March 29) and will continue league play at Youngstown State on Saturday (March 30).
Cleveland State 7, Detroit 0
Doubles:
1. SHABIB, Ali/JONSSON, Niklas (CSU) def. LATOSINSKY, Alex/BASHA, Mike (DETROIT) 8-3
2. KUELKER, Matt/MARKS, Nolan (CSU) def. NUNEZ, Pablo/JOSHI, Jay (DETROIT) 8-5
3. VAN DER VLOET, Jorg/VANMETER, Joe (CSU) def. CHEUNG, Chris/ORANTES, Rafael (DETROIT) 8-3
Singles:
1. van der Vloet, Jorg (CSU) def. LATOSINSKY, Alex (DETROIT) 7-6 (7), 6-2
2. Kuelker, Matt (CSU) def. BASHA, Mike (DETROIT) 6-2, 6-4
3. Shabib, Ali (CSU) def. NUNEZ, Pablo (DETROIT) 3-6, 6-4, 5-4, retired
4. Jonsson, Niklas (CSU) def. SERRANO, Cesar E. (DETROIT) 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-5
5. Marks, Nolan (CSU) def. ORANTES, Rafael (DETROIT) 6-3, 6-1
6. VanMeter, Joe (CSU) def. JOSHI, Jay (DETROIT) 6-2, 7-6 (5)
Exhibition: Matt Ford (CSU) def. Larry Brown (DETROIT), 6-2, 6-1
