PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Cleveland State men's tennis team picked up its first victory of the spring season Saturday, earning a wild 4-3 victory at Temple.
PDF BOX SCORE | Cleveland State 4, Temple 3
Quick Hits
· Saturday's 4-3 win marked Cleveland State's first dual match victory of the season.
· Clark Bilinovich picked up his second straight win at No. 5 singles, posting a perfect 2-0 record on the weekend.
· Nico Mostardi, Matthew Terry and Luke Phillips picked up their first singles wins of the spring season against the Owls.
· Nico Mostardi's win marked his 55th career singles victory, putting him just five wins shy of a spot in the top-10 on the CSU Singles Wins List.
· Matthew Terry improved to 11-6 on the year, tying the team-high for wins this season.
· Saturday's match marked the fourth of a seven-match roadswing to begin the 2019 spring season for the Vikings.
· This was the first meeting between Cleveland State and Temple.
The Match
After dropping the doubles point, the Vikings were able to quickly gain a 2-1 advantage with wins at the top two spots of the singles lineup, as Nico Mostardi and Matthew Terry both posted straight set wins. Mostardi earned a 6-4, 6-0 victory at No. 1 singles, while Terry earned a 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 2 spot.
Temple was then able to pick up the next two singles points, gaining a 3-2 advantage following wins at No. 4 and No. 6 singles, leaving two matches left on the courts.
Luke Phillips was playing at No. 3 singles for the Vikings, and after dropping a tight first set, he was able to maintain his composure and eventually shift the momentum into his favor, earning a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(4) victory to tie the match score at 3-3.
The final match left on the courts was at the No. 5 spot, with Clark Bilinovich splitting his first two sets and forcing a third set to decide the match. After Bilinovich was able to get out to a quick 1-0 lead in the third set, he won the match by default after Temple's No. 3 singles player got called with a game and match penalty after the conclusion of his match.
In doubles play, Cleveland State's No. 3 doubles team of Luke Phillips and William Malm earned a 6-3 victory despite losing the team doubles point. This marked the tandem's 17th career victory as a team, as they are now just three wins shy of earning a spot on the CSU Doubles Wins List.
From The Sidelines
"This match had a crazy finish to what was already a really good collegiate tennis contest. I was so happy that our team proved to be the stronger team when it came to mental toughness, and I thought that the team showed some great perseverance on the courts and it feels great to head home with a victory."
"Looking at the lineups before the match started, I thought that the doubles point could have been the decider, so it was a tough point to drop early on. I thought Luke and William played some great doubles again, and although we came up short at the top two spots, I thought our No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams played really strong in forcing both matches to tiebreakers."
"Nico and Matt picking up quick victories for us in singles gave us some energy on the courts, which the rest of the team was able to feed off of throughout the rest of the match. Luke just refused to give up in his match today, and was able to focus on what he needed to do and tune out everything else that was going on. I thought that Clark played some great tennis all weekend long, and although he didn't have to finish his match today, I thought he was really coming into his game and starting to play at a very high level." – Head Coach Brian Etzkin
Up Next
· The Vikings will continue the 2019 spring season on the road next weekend, traveling to Dayton (Friday, February 1) and Butler (Saturday, February 2).
The Results
Doubles (3, 1, 2)
1. #23 Caceres Casas/Wallner (TEM) def. Mostardi/Slade (CSU), 7-6(5)
2. Dorash/Cucalon (TEM) def. Terry/Teichmann (CSU), 7-6(6)
3. Phillips/Malm (CSU) def. Bohorquez/Araoz (TEM), 6-3
Singles (1, 2, 4, 6, 3, 5)
1. #113 Nico Mostardi (CSU) def. Uladzimir Dorash (TEM), 6-4, 6-0
2. Matthew Terry (CSU) def. Juan Araoz (TEM), 6-3, 6-2
3. Luke Phillips (CSU) def. Alberto Caceres Casas (TEM), 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(4)
4. Mark Wallner (TEM) def. Raul Teichmann (CSU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Clark Bilinovich (CSU) def. Paolo Cucalon (TEM), 7-5, 2-6, 1-0, default.
6. Francisco Bohorquez (TEM) def. William Malm (CSU), 7-6(5), 7-6(5)