CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team will hit the courts for the first time during the 2017-18 season this weekend, as the Vikings are set to participate in the Purdue Fall Invitational. The three-day tournament will begin on Friday, September 15 and will run through Sunday, September 17.
The Purdue Fall Invitational will be a flighted tournament, with six flights for singles and three flights for doubles. There will be four rounds of singles and four rounds of doubles throughout the three-day tournament. Cleveland State will be one of 14 teams at the event, including Horizon League opponent Green Bay.
Friday, September 15 | 8:00 a.m.
1 Round of Singles, 2 Rounds of Doubles
Saturday, September 16 | 8:00 a.m.
2 Rounds of Singles, 1 Round of Doubles
Sunday, September 17 | 8:00 a.m.
1 Round of Singles, 1 Round of Doubles
This will be the first of four fall tournaments for the Vikings this season, as they will also take part in the Louisville Invite (October 13-15) and ITA Midwest Regional (October 19-22) before hosting the second annual Viking Invitational (November 3-5).
Cleveland State returns six letterwinners from last season's squad, including the reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Year in Nico Mostardi. This veteran group will be joined by two newcomers – Luke Phillips (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Matthew Terry (Alpharetta, Ga.) – giving 16-year head coach Brian Etzkin a full lineup to work with during the fall slate.
Entering the 2017-18 season, senior Mirko Radosevic is closing in on 50 career singles wins, needing just one more victory to achieve the feat. Radosevic would become the 12th Viking all-time to notch 50 career wins and the first since the 2014-15 season when Joe VanMeter (2012-15) reached the plateau.
Etzkin, who is entering his 16th season at the helm of the Vikings, is the all-time winningest coach in program history and has led Cleveland State to five Horizon League Tournament titles and five trips to the NCAA Tournament.
