CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team had another successful day on the courts at the Viking Invitational Saturday, advancing a team to the championship match of the main doubles draw, and earning a spot in the semifinals of the main singles draw.
"I thought today was a good day for us, everyone competed really hard throughout the day, and we still have several people set for matches on the final day which is awesome," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We have a doubles team in the final of the main draw, and Nico is still alive in the singles draw – trying to defend his title from last year. We also have a few players in some backdraw matches, and we are going to treat each match like it's a mid-season dual match, which will hopefully lead to a lot of success on the final day of the tournament."
Nico Mostardi went 2-0 on the day in the main singles draw, advancing to the semifinals for the second straight year. In his round of 16 match, Mostardi picked up a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Northern Illinois, before knocking out his teammate, Luke Phillips in the quarterfinals (6-2, 7-5).
The Viking trio of Phillips, Benjamin Slade and Matthew Terry all split their matches in the main singles draw Saturday, each of them earning a victory in the round of 16 before falling in the quarterfinals.
Phillips' victory came as a 7-5, 6-2 decision over Northern Illinois, while Slade posted a 6-3, 6-4 win against Binghamton and Terry earned a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Youngstown State.
Cleveland State's final singles win on the day came from Jack Santilli in the backdraw, as he posted a 6-4, 1-6, 10-4 victory over an unattached player.
In doubles action, the Cleveland State duo of Nico Mostardi and Matthew Terry picked up a pair of wins, advancing to the championship match of the main doubles draw. In their quarterfinal matchup the duo notched a 6-2 victory over Youngstown State, and then followed that up with a 7-6 (5) win over Niagara in the semifinals.
Mirko Radosevic and Benjamin Slade also picked up a doubles win Saturday, earning a 7-6 (9) victory over Northern Illinois in a back draw contest.
The Viking Invitational will wrap up tomorrow, with doubles play beginning at 9:00 a.m. and singles action to follow.
Main Draw Doubles Results
Mostardi/Terry (CSU) def. Kritzinger/Dahan (YSU), 6-2
Mostardi/Terry (CSU) def. Ozdemier/Adams (NIA), 7-6 (5)
Ozdemier/Adams (NIA) def. Phillips/Malm (CSU), 6-1
Back Draw Doubles Results
Radosevic/Slade (CSU) def. Marbach/Lundkvist (NIU), 7-6 (9)
Main Draw Singles Results
Nico Mostardi (CSU) def. Victor Spolidorio (NIU), 6-2, 6-1
Nico Mostardi (CSU) def. Luke Phillips (CSU), 6-2, 7-5
Luke Phillips (CSU) def. Tom Hjertonsson (NIU), 7-5, 6-2
Benjamin Slade (CSU) def. Alejandro Pena (BING), 6-3, 6-4
George Lundkvist (NIU) def. Benjamin Slade (CSU), 6-2, 3-6, 10-7
Matthew Terry (CSU) def. Yossi Dahan (YSU), 6-1, 6-2
Eric Marbach (NIU) def. Matthew Terry (CSU), 6-4, 4-6, 11-9
Jack Santilli (CSU) def. Aris Jhaveri (UNA), 6-4, 1-6, 10-4
