WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Cleveland State men's tennis team continued play at the Wake Forest Invitational Saturday, with Benjamin Slade and William Malm both advancing to the championship matches of their respective singles draws.
"We had a very good day of tennis today, the team won all but one of its doubles matches, and we also picked up wins in five of our six singles matches, which led to a very successful day for us," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We still have two players alive in the main singles draw in Ben and Wiliam, so it will be great to cheer them on in the championship matches tomorrow. We had some great focus and fight today, and like with most competitive matches, there were moments that could have turned some matches the wrong way, but we handled adversity pretty well throughout the day."
Slade continued his strong play in the C2 Singles draw, as he picked up his third straight victory to advance to the championship match of the bracket. Slade, who now has a team-best 3-0 singles record on the weekend, picked up a 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 victory against Indiana's Payam Ahmadi in his semifinal contest.
Malm also earned a spot in the championship match of his D1 Singles draw, after posting a 6-4, 6-2 victory over UNCC's Josh Aubrey. Malm, who earned a bye in the first round of the tournament, owns a 2-0 singles record on the weekend.
The trio of Colton Buffington, Andre Mick, and Mirko Radosevic also picked up consolation singles wins for the Vikings on Saturday. Buffington posted a 6-3, 6-1 victory against Walker Sims of Navy, while Mick earned a 7-5, 7-6 (4) win against UNCC's Carl Solik, and Radosevic battled for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 win against Valentin Horvat of Georgia State.
Cleveland State also picked up two doubles wins on Saturday, with Buffington and Mick earning a 7-5 victory over a duo from Liberty in the A1 Doubles draw and Nico Mostardi and Radosevic posting a 6-0 win against a Tennessee Tech team in the B1 Doubles draw. Both teams will play in the backdraw championship match of their draws tomorrow.
Play at the Wake Forest Invitational will conclude tomorrow (Sunday, November 12).
A1 Singles
Andrej Andrukhov (GSU) def, Nico Mostardi (CSU), 6-2, 6-4
B1 Singles
Colton Buffington (CSU) def. Walker Sims (Navy), 6-3, 6-1
C1 Singles
Andre Mick (CSU) def. Carl Solik (UNCC), 7-5, 7-6 (4)
Mirko Radosevic (CSU) def, Valentin Horvat (GSU), 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
C2 Singles
Benjamin Slade (CSU) def Payam Ahmadi (IU), 6-3, 5-7, 6-0
D1 Singles
William Malm (CSU) def. Josh Aubrey (UNCC), 6-4, 6-2
A1 Doubles
Buffington/Mick (CSU) def. Gutierrez/Heller (LU), 7-5
B1 Doubles
Mostardi/Radosevic (CSU) def. Tajes/Alfonso (TTU), 6-0
C1 Doubles
Monterosso/Ayet (Camp) def. Slade/Malm (CSU), 7-6 (3)