April 14, 2012
Contact: Renee Adam
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CHICAGO, Ill. - The Cleveland State men's tennis team evened its Horizon League record Saturday afternoon, posting a 6-1 victory at UIC. The victory puts the Vikings at 8-10 overall this season and 2-2 in Horizon League play.
"It was good to see us playing some strong tennis again and getting the results that we wanted," assistant coach Jay Tee said. "We had very strong play from the entire lineup today, as we were able to get back on the winning track and hopefully we will be able to carry that momentum to tomorrow's match at Valparaiso."
For the fourth time this season Cleveland State was able to sweep the doubles matches, picking up the first point of the match. Nolan Marks and Ali Shabib picked up their team-best ninth victory of the spring with an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles, while Matt Ford and Yannick Goossens marked their second victory out of their last three matches with an 8-0 win at the No. 2 spot. At No. 3 doubles, Matt Kuelker and Jorg Van Der Vloet picked up an 8-1 victory.
In singles play, Kuelker and Ford were able to earn straight set victories, while Goossens, Marks and van der Vloet each battled for three-set wins. Ford, who leads the team with a 16-14 record this season, cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles, marking his fifth straight win. With the win Ford also remains perfect in Horizon League action, owning a 4-0 record.
Marks picked up his third straight victory at No. 4 singles Saturday afternoon, posting a 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-6 (4) win against UIC. Saturday's victory was Marks 10th of the spring season, as he improves to 15-14 overall this year.
CSU's other victories came from Goossens at No. 1 singles, Kuelker at No. 2 singles and van der Vloet at the No. 3 position. Goossens earned a 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 win, Kuelker claimed a 6-4, 6-2 win and van der Vloet came out on top of a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 6-2 decision.
The Vikings will close out their final regular season road swing tomorrow, as they take on Valparaiso at 2:00 p.m. EST.
Cleveland State 6, UIC 1
Doubles:
1. Marks/Shabib (CSU) def. Raa/Kamath (UIC), 8-6
2. Ford/Goossens (CSU) def. Feoli/Reifer (UIC), 8-0
3. Kuelker/van der Vloet (CSU) def. Kirk/Shepardson (UIC), 8-1
Singles:
1. Goossens, Yannick (CSU) def. LI, James (UIC) 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
2. Kuelker, Matt (CSU) def. RAA, Alexander (UIC) 6-4, 6-2
3. REIFER, Alan (UIC) def. Shabib, Ali (CSU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Marks, Nolan (CSU) def. FEOLI, Maurizio (UIC) 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-6 (4)
5. Van Der Vloet, Jorg (CSU) def. KAMATH, Rahul (UIC) 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 6-2
6. Ford, Matt (CSU) def. OROSKAR, Gautham (UIC) 6-2, 6-2
