Contact: Renee Adam
Follow the Vikings on TWITTER
CSU Athletics on YouTube
Become a Fan on Facebook
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Cleveland State men's tennis team opened play at the Purdue Invitational Friday, with two doubles teams and four singles players still alive in their respective flights. Ali Shabib and Matt Kuelker both finished the day undefeated, as they both won a singles match and two doubles matches. Action will continue tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., with two rounds of singles matches and one round of doubles matches scheduled.
"Overall we had a pretty good day today, we had some good wins on the courts and won the matches that I thought we should have," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "There was definitely some improvement and development compared to last week's tournament, especially from Niklas (Jonsson) who was competing at a much higher level today."
Three of Cleveland State's singles wins came in the Flight B Draw, as Shabib, Matt Ford and Niklas Jonsson each won their opening round match. Ford extended his win-streak to four this season with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Alfonzo Costas of IPFW, while Jonsson posted his first singles win of the year in a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-1 victory over Toledo's Bryant Dudzik. Shabib's victory came over Lucas Waak of Valparaiso in a 7-6 (4), 6-3 decision.
Kuelker recorded CSU's final singles victory on the day, earning a 6-3, 6-2 win over Iowa's Dominic Patrick in the Flight A Singles Draw.
In the Flight A Doubles Draw, Shabib and Jonsson picked up victories over Valparaiso (8-4) and Butler (8-2) to advance to the quarterfinals, while also extending their win-streak to five. Jorg van der Vloet and Kuelker posted back-to-back 8-2 victories over IPFW and Toledo, reaching the semifinals of the Flight B Doubles Draw.
"Ali and Niklas continued their win-streak in doubles play, picking up two solid wins in the A Flight. They are developing into a very good doubles team and hopefully they can continue that throughout the weekend," Etzkin said. "Ali along with Matt (Kuelker) definitely led the team today, posting 3-0 records in their matches, including Kuelker picking up a strong win over a Big Ten opponent."
The Vikings will continue play at the Purdue Invitational tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 22). For updates throughout the invite check out Purdue Tennis on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/purduetennis.
CSU Singles Results:
Flight A Singles Draw
Mueck (XU) def. van der Vloet (CSU), 6-2, 6-4
Acosta (PU) def. VanMeter (CSU), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2
Kuelker (CSU) def. Patrick (Iowa), 6-3, 6-2
Flight B Singles Draw
Shabib (CSU) def. Waak (Valpo), 7-6 (4), 6-3
Ford (CSU) def. Costas (IPFW), 6-2, 6-1
Jonsson (CSU) def. Dudzik (UT), 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-1
Flight C Singles Draw
Cobos (IPFW) def. Marks (CSU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
Carman (XU) def. Jones (CSU), 7-5, 6-4
CSU Doubles Results:
Flight A Doubles Draw
Kang/Freitas (IPFW) def. VanMeter/Jones (CSU), 8-1
Hagan/Diercx (Iowa) def. Ford/Marks (CSU), 8-1
Shabib/Jonsson (CSU) def. Honert/Oakes (Valpo), 8-4
Shabib/Jonsson (CSU) def. O'Neill/Bhattacharya (BU), 8-2
O'Neill/Jaruvang (IUPUI) def. VanMeter/Jones (CSU), 8-6
Vanderploeg/Treis (WMU) def. Ford/Marks (CSU), 8-1
Flight B Doubles Draw
van der Vloet/Kuelker (CSU) def. Depree/Sztrajtman (IPFW), 8-2
van der Vloet/Kuelker (CSU) def. Wareti/Cona (UT), 8-2
