MARIETTA, Georgia – Following an upset run through the Horizon League Tournament earlier this spring, the Cleveland State men's tennis team received its first honor for the 2017-18 season Monday afternoon (June 5), earning a spot on TennisRecruiting.net's Top-25 Mid-Major Recruiting Class Rankings. The Vikings landed at No. 22 on this year's list, marking the second time that Cleveland State has cracked the top-25.
Cleveland State's 2017-18 recruiting class includes the duo of Luke Phillips (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Matthew Terry (Alpharetta, Ga.) – Phillips a four-star recruit and Terry a five-star recruit according to TennisRecruiting.net.
"I am very excited for the two student-athletes that we will be bringing in next year, and I definitely think they both have the potential to make an immediate impact on the court," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "It is nice to be recognized as one of the top 25 mid-major recruiting classes, and hopefully we are in the process of building something special here at Cleveland State."
Cleveland State is the only Horizon League school ranked in this year's top-25, and is also the only school from the state of Ohio to make the list.
Phillips and Terry signed National Letters of Intent to attend Cleveland State University last November, and will be joining six returners from this year's squad that advanced to the Horizon League Championship match for the eighth time out of the last 10 seasons.
Both newcomers enter Cleveland State as top-five players from their respective states, while Phillips and Terry are also both top-25 regional players.
The last time the Vikings had a top-25 recruiting class was prior to the 2010-11 season when they welcomed Matt Kuelker (St. Louis, Mo.) and Matt Ford (Allen, Texas). This duo led the Vikings to more than 50 dual match victories during their careers and two Horizon League Tournament Championships.
TennisRecruiting.net selected its top-25 mid-major programs from the following conferences: AAC, Atlantic 10, Atlantic Sun, Big East, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, CAA, C-USA, Horizon, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Mountain West, Northeast, OVC, Patriot, SoCon, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, WCC, WAC, and all programs outside of Division I.
