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Vikings Finish Regular Season Play At UIC & Valparaiso

Vikings Finish Regular Season Play At UIC & Valparaiso
Posted: Apr 16, 2014

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team will close out the regular season this weekend, traveling to UIC and Valparaiso for a pair of Horizon League contests. The Vikings enter the weekend with a 12-7 overall record and a 3-1 mark in league play – and will be trying to secure a top-two seed for the upcoming Horizon League Championship.

Friday, April 18 // @ UIC // 7:00 p.m. EST

MatchPoint Tennis Club // 1111 Reyome Drive  // Griffith, Ind. // 46319

Saturday, April 19 // @ Valparaiso // 3:00 p.m. EST

Valpo Tennis Complex // 1700 Chapel Drive  // Valparaiso, Ind. // 46383

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VanMeter Continues Win Streak: Joe VanMeter enters the weekend with the team's longest active win streak, winning his last 12 matches. Last weekend, VanMeter won his match at No. 4 singles against Green Bay, and is just two wins away from becoming the third Viking to reach 20 wins this season.

…Bellutti Strong In Singles Play: Manuel Bellutti has also made an impact on the singles lineup over the past nine weeks, winning 12 of his 13 matches during this stretch. Entering Friday's contest at UIC, Bellutti has won six straight, and stands at 21-9 this season.

Two Vikings Perfect In League Play: Entering the final weekend of regular season play, two Vikings own a perfect 4-0 record in Horizon League play – Manuel Bellutti and Joe VanMeter. Bellutti and VanMeter have both played at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions during league contests this year, Bellutti owning a 1-0 mark at No. 4 and a 3-0 mark at No. 5, while VanMeter owns a 3-0 mark at No. 4 and a 1-0 mark at No. 5.

…Kuelker/Marks Perfect In Doubles: The CSU doubles team of Matt Kuelker and Nolan Marks also owns a perfect 4-0 record in league play, with all four victories coming at No. 2 doubles. Kuelker and Marks own an 11-6 record this season, and have won five straight matches leading CSU to five straight doubles points.

Kuelker Closing in on 80: Entering the weekend, Matt Kuelker is just one win shy of becoming the fifth Viking all-time to record 80 career singles victories. Kuelker currently ranks fifth on the all-time singles wins list with 79 wins on his career, needing just three more wins to move into fourth place on the list.

The Opponents: UIC enters the weekend with a 4-9 overall record and a 1-3 mark in league play. UIC's lone Horizon League victory came against Detroit (5-2) last weekend. Over the past 11 seasons, the Vikings have notched a 12-4 record against the Flames, and have won 11 straight heading into Friday's match.

Valparaiso enters the weekend with a 17-7 overall record and an even 2-2 mark in league play. So far this season the Crusaders have earned league wins over UIC (7-0) and Detroit (5-2). Under head coach Brian Etzkin, the Vikings are 6-2 against Valparaiso.