Contact: Renee Adam
Follow the Vikings on TWITTER
CSU Athletics on YouTube
Become a Fan on Facebook
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Cleveland State men's tennis team continued its three-match roadswing to open the spring season Thursday evening, falling to No. 4 Ohio State, 4-0.
"I thought we played well in doubles tonight, especially missing a couple people from our lineup we were able to fill in the slots and play some good tennis," head coach Brian Etzkin said. " We definitely left some points on the court, but overall I think we had an ok night. Everyone got into their matches during singles play, but we got off to slow starts on all of the courts and you just can't do that against a strong team like Ohio State. Ali had a great performance in his second set after dropping the first, and was really controlling the match when it was suspended. We had some team goals that we were able to accomplish tonight, and if they keep fighting and working hard the wins will come."
The Buckeyes opened the match with victories at No. 3 (8-1) and No. 1 (8-4) doubles to gain the 1-0 advantage heading into singles play. OSU, who was playing with two top-30 singles players, then captured straight set wins at No. 6 (6-0, 6-0), No. 5 (6-2, 6-2) and No. 3 singles (6-1, 6-2) to secure the victory.
Ali Shabib was making a strong comeback at No. 2 singles before his match was suspended, trailing 4-3 in the second set after dropping the first set 6-0. Jorg van der Vloet and Matt Ford, who were playing at the No. 1 and No. 4 spots, respectively, also had their matches called.
The Vikings will now host Binghamton on Sunday (Jan. 27) at 11:00 a.m. in their first home contest of the spring season. Sunday's match will take place at Paramount Tennis Club in Westlake, Ohio.
No. 4 Ohio State 4, Cleveland State 0
Doubles:
1. McCarthy/Engelen (OSU) def. VanMeter/Marks (CSU), 8-4
2. Metka/Callahan (OSU) vs. Shabib/Ford (CSU), 7-4, unf.
3. Smith/Diaz (OSU) def. van der Vloet/Jones (CSU), 8-1
Singles:
1. Engelen (OSU) vs. van der Vloet (CSU), 6-2, 3-0, unf.
2. McCarthy (OSU) vs. Shabib (CSU), 6-0, 4-3, unf.
3. #13 Smith (OSU) def. VanMeter (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
4. #30 Diaz (OSU) vs. Ford (CSU), 6-0, 4-1, unf.
5. Callahan (OSU) def. Marks (CSU), 6-2, 6-2
6. Christ (OSU) def. Jones (CSU), 6-0, 6-0
