CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team remained perfect at home this season, picking up a 5-2 victory over Ball State Friday afternoon. With the win, the Vikings are now 7-4 overall this season.
PDF BOX SCORE | Cleveland State 5, Ball State 2
Quick Hits
· With the 5-2 victory over Ball State, Cleveland State has now won five straight matches, and owns a perfect 4-0 record at the MMTP this season.
· With his win at No. 4 singles, Benjamin Slade moved into a tie for seventh place on the CSU Singles Wins List, and currently has 71 career victories.
· Following a victory at the top of the lineup, Nico Mostardi now has 59 career singles wins and is just one win shy of moving into the top-10 on the CSU Singles Wins List.
· Luke Phillips picked up his eighth straight singles win, and improved to a team-best 8-1 this spring.
· Raul Teichmann and Clark Bilinovich have a team-best 16 wins on the season after picking up victories against Ball State Friday afternoon.
· This was the sixth meeting between the two teams, with the Vikings now owning a 4-2 advantage in the series.
The Match
After dropping the doubles point, the Vikings were able to swing the momentum into their favor throughout the start of singles play, and quickly gained a 2-1 advantage following wins at the No. 6 and No. 5 spots. Clark Bilinovich and Raul Teichmann picked up matching 6-2, 6-4 victories, Bilinovich at No. 6 singles and Teichmann at No. 5 singles.
The Vikings then earned a 3-1 lead following a 6-4, 6-4 win from Luke Phillips at No. 3 singles, and were able to clinch the match with a win at the top of the lineup. Nico Mostardi posted a 6-2, 7-6 victory at No. 1 singles, earning his first clinching point of the season.
Cleveland State's final point of the match came from Benjamin Slade at No. 4 singles, as he earned a 7-5, 6-3 victory.
From The Sidelines
"Overall this was a solid team win for us today, despite getting down early after doubles, we were able to swing the momentum at the start of singles and get things rolling. I thought the difference from last year to this year was the fact that we were able to pick up quick wins from Raul and Clark and get those first two singles points on the board quickly. These two, along with Luke and Nico were able to do some great work to get four points on the board for us, and Ben came back in his match to get us another win after we continued to shift the energy in our favor."
"I thought the crowd made a huge difference for us today, we fed off of their energy during singles play and it was awesome to see the difference they could make in a match. This was the best student support I have seen in my 17 years at Cleveland State, and it was AWESOME! A huge thank you goes out to all that were in the MMTP today cheering us on to a victory!" – Head Coach Brian Etzkin
Up Next
· Cleveland State will host nationally ranked Michigan on Sunday, February 24, welcoming the No. 18 Wolverines for a 2:00 p.m. match.
The Results
Doubles (2, 3)
1. Mostardi/Slade (CSU) vs. Guzina/Guzina (BSU), 5-4, unf.
2. Kovacevic/Carney (BSU) def. Phillips/Malm (CSU), 6-2
3. Adams/Andersen (BSU) def. Terry/Teichmann (CSU), 6-4
Singles (6, 5, 3, 1, 4, 2)
1. Nico Mostardi (CSU) def. Marko Guzina (BSU), 6-2, 7-6 (2)
2. Nemanja Guzina (BSU) def. Matthew Terry (CSU), 6-1, 4-6, 7-6
3. Luke Phillips (CSU) def. Thibault De Negri (BSU), 6-4, 6-4
4. Benjamin Slade (CSU) def. Chris Adams (BSU), 7-5, 6-3
5. Raul Teichmann (CSU) def. Bryce Bonin (BSU), 6-2, 6-4
6. Clark Bilinovich (CSU) def. Conner Andersen (BSU), 6-2, 6-4