The Cleveland State men's tennis team went 3-0 in its singles matches Friday, with Nico Mostardi, Luke Phillips and Matthew Terry all picking up wins in their respective singles matches and the Oracle ITA Masters and Milwaukee Tennis Classic.
Oracle ITA Masters | Malibu, Calif.
Nico Mostardi picked up his first singles win of the season Friday, battling for a 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 victory in his consolation first round match. This marks the 47th victory of his career, as he is now just three wins shy of becoming the 14th Viking to reach 50 career victories.
Mostardi's win came over Northern Arizona's Tim Handel, the two-time Big Sky Most Valuable Player. Mostardi was able to control play during the first set, earning a 6-4 victory, and then dropped a hard fought 7-6(6) second set after coming up just short in the tiebreaker. During the third set, Mostardi dropped the first eight points, but rallied back to even the set and then picked up eight straight points over the last two games to clinch the match.
Mostardi will now face Fresno State's Zdenek Derkas in a consolation quarterfinal match tomorrow (Saturday, September 23) at approximately 2:00 p.m. EST.
Updated Draws | Consolation Singles
From The Sideline
"This was a very up-and-down match, and we were lucky enough to finish with an up! The opponent was not going to let Nico win with his strengths, which forced him to make a lot of adjustments and win a lot of points without some of his weapons. It was a mental and physical battle on the court, and I'm happy that Nico picked up his first win of the weekend and gets the chance to advance." – head coach Brian Etzkin
Consolation Singles First Round
Nico Mostardi (CSU) def. Tim Handel (NAU), 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-4
Milwaukee Tennis Classic | Milwaukee, Wis.
Luke Phillips and Matthew Terry both picked up wins in their consolation singles matches Friday, notching their first wins of the 2018-19 campaign.
Phillips picked up a 6-4, 6-2 victory over IUPUI's Bradley Luetschwager, while Terry earned a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Wisconsin's Alan Sweet.
The duo also played their first doubles match of the weekend, dropping an 8-5 decision against William Howells and Matt Gamble of Notre Dame.
Phillips (vs. Jesper Freimuth) and Terry (vs. Daniel Krutik) will continue consolation play tomorrow (Saturday, September 22) at approximately 10:15 a.m. EST.
Updated Draws | Main Draw Doubles | Consolation Singles
Main Draw Doubles
Howells/Gamble (UND) def. Phillips/Terry (CSU), 8-5
Consolation Singles First Round
Luke Phillips (CSU) def. Bradley Luetschwager (IUPUI), 6-4, 6-2
Matthew Terry (CSU) def. Alan Sweet (WIS), 6-3, 6-2
