Vikings Continue Homestand Against Northern Illinois & Case Western

Posted: Feb 01, 2018

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team will look to continue their winning ways this weekend, hosting Northern Illinois and Case Western Reserve in a pair of dual matches on Saturday, February 3.

Last Time Out…
The Vikings rattled off three straight wins to improve to 3-2 on the young season last weekend, picking up wins against Duquesne (4-3), DePaul (6-1) and Oberlin (6-1).

The Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion
Cleveland State will continue its current five-match homestand this weekend, looking to improve to 5-0 on the season when playing in the Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion. The Vikings are playing in the MMTP for the third year, and now stand at 9-7 all-time in matches played in the Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion.

Mostardi Picks Up Back-To-Back #HLMTEN Honors
Sophomore Nico Mostardi picked up his second straight Horizon League Singles Player of the Week honor on Monday, as he went 3-0 at No. 1 singles in last weekend's victories to earn the accolade. Mostardi, who owns a perfect 4-0 record this spring, owns a team and league-best 16-4 singles mark this year. So far this spring, all four of Mostardi's singles wins have come as straight set victories.

…And Claims Doubles Team Honors With Terry
Nico Mostardi also teamed up with freshman Matthew Terry to earn Horizon League Doubles Team of the Week honors earlier this week, as the duo went 2-0 at No. 2 doubles against Duquesne and DePaul. Mostardi and Terry helped Cleveland State pick up the crucial doubles point in both matches last weekend, and now own a perfect 6-0 doubles record this season.

Slade Closing In On Career Win #50
After going 3-0 last weekend, junior Benjamin Slade enters the weekend with 45 career singles wins, needing just five more victories to become the 13^th Viking all-time to eclipse the 50-win milestone. Slade notched a 21-win season as a freshman, posted 15 wins as a sophomore, and currently owns a 9-7 singles record during his junior campaign.

Slade & Radosevic Move Up Doubles Wins List
Cleveland State's No. 1 doubles team of Benjamin Slade and Mirko Radosevic moved up the CSU Doubles Wins List last weekend, picking up a pair of wins at the top spot to move into eighth place with 21 career wins as a duo. Slade and Radosevic are one of just 10 Cleveland State doubles teams to reach the 20-win mark, and own a 2-2 mark so far this spring.

Head Coach Brian Etzkin
Brian Etzkin is in his 16^th year at the helm of the Vikings, owning a 220-161 dual match record. Etzkin has guided the Vikings to five Horizon League Tournament titles and five trips to the NCAA Tournament during his tenure. Last spring, Etzkin helped lead the Vikings to the championship match of the Horizon League tournament, making their eighth appearance in the title match.

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Scouting The Huskies
Northern Illinois enters Saturday's match with a 5-1 record on the season, dropping a 4-0 contest at Drake in the season opener before rattling off five straight wins. The Huskies will also be taking on Case Western following their match against Cleveland State Saturday afternoon.

This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams under head coach Brian Etzkin, with Cleveland State owning a 2-1 advantage in the series.

Scouting The Spartans
Case Western enters the weekend as the 15^th-ranked Division III team, and will take on Northern Illinois prior to the match against Cleveland State. The Spartans will be returning seven players from last season's squad that matched a program record with a 22-6 overall record.

This will be the sixth time that the two teams are meeting over the last 16 seasons, with Cleveland State owning a perfect 5-0 record.