April 21, 2012
Contact: Renee Adam
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Behind a balanced attack, the Cleveland State men's tennis team was able to capture their fourth Horizon League victory of the season Saturday, defeating Butler, 5-2. Saturday's victory improves the Vikings to 10-10 overall this season and 4-2 in league play.
"Once again the story of this victory is the depth that we have on this team," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We kept ourselves in the contest by winning matches at the bottom of the lineup, which is how many of our matches have gone this season. The doubles point was once again key for us, and Matt Ford and Yannick Goossens gave us a nice cushion for the rest of the match with their doubles victory."
For the third straight match CSU was able to earn the doubles point, claiming 8-5 victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Matt Kuelker and Jorg Van Der Vloet picked up their team-best 14th victory of the season at the No. 3 spot, while Yannick Goossens and Matt Ford earned the win at No. 2 doubles.
Ford, who was playing at No. 6 singles, gave CSU a 2-0 advantage after cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 victory. The win marked Ford's seventh straight, while it also kept him perfect in Horizon League play at 6-0 on the year. Ali Shabib picked up the next singles win for the Vikings, earning a 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory at the No. 4 spot, while Nolan Marks clinched the match for CSU with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles. Marks is now 5-1 in league matches, and enters Sunday's contest against Wright State on a five-match win streak.
The final singles win of the match came from van der Vloet at No. 5 singles as he battled for a 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4 victory. The win marked van der Vloet's 14th of the season and his third straight victory.
"I thought all four of our players who won their singles matches played some great tennis today, including Nolan Marks who is picking up some crucial league wins for us," Etzkin said. "Nolan has improved throughout the season and is playing smart tennis right now and earning his victories. Ali continued his strong play today and is taking steps in the right direction that will help him during the upcoming tournament. Matt Ford was in control throughout his entire match and he continues to dominate his opponents, while Jorg was able to pull out his win after picking up his play over the past couple of matches."
The Vikings will close out the regular season tomorrow (Sunday, April 22), hosting Wright State at 3:00 p.m. at Paramount Tennis Club in Westlake, Ohio.
Cleveland State 5, Butler 2
Doubles:
1. Woldmoe/Weldon (BU) def. Shabib/Marks (CSU), 8-6
2. Goossens/Ford (CSU) def. Marx/Ervin (BU), 8-5
3. Kuelker/van der Vloet (CSU) def. McLoughlin/O'Neil (BU), 8-5
Singles:
1. WOLDMOE, Austin (BU) def. Goossens, Yannick (CSU) 6-3, 6-4
2. MARX, Tommy (BU) def. Kuelker, Matt (CSU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Marks, Nolan (CSU) def. ERVIN, Zach (BU) 7-5, 6-4
4. Shabib, Ali (CSU) def. BHATTACHARYA, P. (BU) 7-6 (6), 6-3
5. Van Der Vloet, Jorg (CSU) def. WELDON, Billy (BU) 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4
6. Ford, Matt (CSU) def. McLOUGHLIN, S. (BU) 6-1, 6-1
