COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team made their seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon, dropping a hard fought 4-0 decision at overall top seed Ohio State.
PDF BOX SCORE | No. 1 Ohio State 4, Cleveland State 0
Quick Hits
· Cleveland State was making its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and seventh overall trip to the NCAA First Round.
· The Vikings finished the year with a 19-8 record, marking the third time in program history that they have recorded 19+ wins, with all three seasons coming under head coach Brian Etzkin.
· Cleveland State's top doubles team of Nico Mostardi and Benjamin Slade picked up a 7-6(6) victory over Ohio State's 23rd ranked No. 1 doubles team, giving the duo just their fourth loss of the season.
2019 Viking Seniors
· This marked the final match in a Viking uniform for seniors Benjamin Slade and William Malm.
· The duo has led the Vikings to 60 wins and two Horizon League Tournament championships over the last four years.
Cleveland State Record Book
· Benjamin Slade finished his career ranked sixth on the CSU Singles Wins List with 80 career victories, one of just six Vikings all-time with 80+ wins.
· Benjamin Slade also finished his career ranked seventh on the CSU Doubles Wins List with 70 career victories.
· Nico Mostardi wrapped up his junior season ranked ninth on the CSU Singles Wins List with 70 career victories, one of just nine Vikings all-time with 70+ wins.
· Cleveland State's No. 1 doubles team of Nico Mostardi and Benjamin Slade finished the year with a team-best 19 wins, ranking seventh on the Single-Season Doubles Wins List, and has combined for 27 career wins to rank third on the Career Doubles Wins List.
· Freshman Clark Bilinovich finished the season with a team-high 29 singles wins, tying the program record for wins in a single season.
Viking Singles Lineup
· For the first time under head coach Brian Etzkin, all six Vikings in the singles lineup finished the year with 20+ wins, including back-to-back 20-win campaigns from Nico Mostardi, Luke Phillips, Benjamin Slade, and Matthew Terry.
From The Sidelines
"I thought we really brought it today, we knew the odds were against us playing the No. 1 team in the country, but having played them already this year we knew what we would be up against and we knew that we could play with them. We got off to a great start in doubles, and got to roar one more time when Nico and Ben got us a win at the top of the lineup against a ranked team. Their win put us in a good position to win the doubles point, and we even had a match point at No. 2 doubles, but unfortunately we weren't able to capitalize. I thought our doubles play was sharp today, and we definitely came out strong, which is what we wanted to do."
"Although Ohio State was able to put the match away with three quick singles wins, I thought this was a good battle and a good match between both teams. We definitely did our best to represent Cleveland State and the Horizon League to the best of our ability. The guys should be proud of themselves for the season that they had, we accomplished a lot of our goals we set for ourselves in the beginning of the year, and after seeing our play today I'm inspired as we look forward to next year." – head coach Brian Etzkin
The Results
Doubles (3, 1, 2)
1. Mostardi/Slade (CSU) def. #23 Wolf/Joyce (OSU), 7-6(6)
2. #51 Kobelt/Seelig (OSU) def. Terry/Phillips (CSU), 7-6(7)
3. McNally/Tubert (OSU) def. Bilinovich/Teichmann (CSU), 6-3
Singles (3, 5, 4)
1. #2 JJ Wolf (OSU) vs. Nico Mostardi (CSU), 7-6(2), 2-0, unf.
2. Matthew Terry (CSU) vs. #26 John McNally (OSU), 6-2, 3-3, unf.
3. #60 Kyle Seelig (OSU) def. Luke Phillips (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
4. #111 Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Raul Teichmann (CSU), 6-4, 6-2
5. Alex Kobelt (OSU) def. Benjamin Slade (CSU), 6-3, 6-3
6. Hunter Tubert (OSU) vs. Clark Bilinovich (CSU), 6-4, 5-0, unf.