April 17, 2011
Contact: Greg Murphy
WESTLAKE, Ohio - The Cleveland State men's tennis team ran its win streak to eight straight with a 4-3 win over Northern Illinois in the regular season finale on Sunday afternoon at the Paramount Tennis Center.
CSU concludes the regular season with a 14-7 overall mark.
"This was a very good win for us against a quality team," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "It was another close match where every point was key and we have now won six of our seven matches that have gone 4-3. I think we have battled hard and are well tested heading into the league championship next week."
The Vikings played today's match without senior Rob Fox, who plays at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles. Fox sat out due to the number of matches he had already played in this spring.
"Rob is a key component of what we have been able to accomplish this season," Etzkin said. "Without him in the lineup today, it gave others a chance to move up in the lineup and I thought everyone responded well."
NIU won the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. John Haley, who normally teams with Fox at No. 1 doubles, moved down to the No. 3 slot today and won an 8-3 decision with Aris Spirtos.
Northern Illinois won the top two singles matches, but the Vikings won the bottom four to secure the win.
Haley won at No. 4 singles, 6-3, 6-0, while Ford won at No. 5 singles, 6-2, 6-1, as both players played one spot up from their normal positions in the lineup.
Jay Jones won at No. 6 singles, 6-4, 6-1, while Chris Klepatz, who was also playing up a spot in the lineup, clinched the victory with a 6-3, 7-6 win at No. 3 singles.
"Chris has clinched a few matches of late for us and that is what a senior should do," Etzkin said.
The Vikings are now out of action until the Horizon League Championship which will be played at North Central H.S. in Indianapolis, Ind., from April 21-23. As the top seed in the championship, CSU will receive an automatic bye into the semifinals and will not play its first match until Friday (April 22) against a first round winner.
The Vikings have won the last three league titles.
Cleveland State 4, Northern Illinois 3
Apr 17, 2011 at Westlake, Ohio (Paramount Tennis Club)
Singles competition
1. BARTIUK, Maksym (NIU) def. Goossens, Yannick (CSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. LAGERLOF, Axel (NIU) def. Kuelker, Matt (CSU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Klepatz, Chris (CSU) def. TURTYGIN, Roman (NIU) 6-3, 7-6
4. Haley, John (CSU) def. LAGUTIN, Maksym (NIU) 6-3, 6-0
5. Ford, Matt (CSU) def. WEE (NIU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Jones, Jay (CSU) def. STEPHENS, Tyler (NIU) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. LAGERLOF, Axel/TURTYGIN, Roman (NIU) def. GOOSSENS, Yannick/KLEPATZ, Chris (CSU) 9-8
2. BARTIUK, Maksym/LAGUTIN, Maksym (NIU) def. FORD, Matt/KUELKER, Matt (CSU) 8-6
3. HALEY, John/SPIRTOS, Aris (CSU) def. STEPHENS, Tyler/WEE (NIU) 8-3
