Vikings Remain Perfect At Home With Wins Over NIU & Case

Vikings Remain Perfect At Home With Wins Over NIU & Case

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team kept its record perfect in the Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion this season, picking up a pair of wins over Northern Illinois and Case Western on Saturday.

Cleveland State vs. Case Western PDF Box Score | Cleveland State vs. Northern Illinois Recap

From The Sidelines
"This was another great match for us against a very good Case Western team. We were able to keep our focus in singles and played mostly from ahead the entire match. Gabe came up big for us today with a deuce point/match point return to clinch the doubles point, and then he posted the clinching point in singles play. This was a great day of tennis that tested us physically and mentally, and we are looking forward to getting back to practice next week and continuing our steady improvement." – Head Coach Brian Etzkin

Match Notes
· 2018 Record: 5-2
· Nico Mostardi extended his singles winstreak to six straight matches this spring, remaining perfect during dual match play.
· William Malm now owns a perfect 3-0 singles record this spring.
· In all five dual match victories this spring, the Vikings have picked up the early doubles point.
· Cleveland State now owns a perfect 5-0 record at the Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion.
· Under head coach Brian Etzkin, the Vikings stand at 6-0 against Case Western.
· The Vikings end the weekend on a five-match winstreak.

The Points
· Cleveland State got out to the 1-0 start picking up the doubles point, earning wins from Nico Mostardi and Matthew Terry at the top of the lineup (6-2) and Benjamin Slade and Gabriel Evtimov at No. 3 doubles (7-5).
· Nico Mostardi quickly put the Vikings up 2-0 with another straight set win at No. 1 singles, posting a 6-1, 6-1 victory. Mostardi now owns a team-best 18-4 singles record this year.
· Matthew Terry picked up the next singles point for the Vikings, earning a 6-2, 6-1 win at the No. 2 spot. Terry is now 3-3 this spring and 15-6 overall this season.
· The clinching point came from Gabriel Evtimov at No. 4 singles, as he posted a 6-3, 6-2 win to improve to 2-4 during dual match play.
· William Malm picked up his second singles win of the day, posting a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles to improve to 5-5 overall this season.
· The final point came from Luke Phillips at the No. 3 spot, as he notched a 6-3, 7-5 straight set victory. Phillips is now 3-3 this spring and 13-7 overall this season.

Up Next
· Cleveland State will return to the road for a single match at Ball State next weekend, taking on the Cardinals on Saturday, February 10.

The Results
Doubles
1. Mostardi/Terry (CSU) def. Fojtasek/Chen (CASE), 6-2
2. Hsia/Powell (CASE) def. Phillips/Malm (CASE), 6-4
3. Slade/Evtimov (CSU) def. Kanam/Concannon (CASE), 7-5

Singles
1. Nico Mostardi (CSU) def. James Fojtasek (CASE), 6-1, 6-1
2. Matthew Terry (CSU) def. Rob Stroup (CASE), 6-2, 6-1
3. Luke Phillips (CSU) def. Sam Concannon (CASE), 6-3, 7-5
4. Gabriel Evtimov (CSU) def. Sidd Rajupet (CASE), 6-3, 6-2
5. Anthony Kanam (CASE) def. Benjamin Slade (CSU), 6-2, 6-4
6. William Malm (CSU) def. Earl Hsieh (CASE), 6-2, 6-2