April 27, 2012
Contact: Renee Adam
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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Behind strong singles play, including a three-set victory from Nolan Marks at No. 3 singles, the Cleveland State men's tennis team claimed a 4-3 victory over Detroit in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Championship Friday afternoon. The victory puts the Vikings in to the semifinals, where they will face No. 1 Wright State Saturday (April, 28).
"We are all very happy to pull out the victory this afternoon against a very determined Detroit team," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Coming into the match we knew that we would have to get points that we didn't get last time and we were able to do that which in the end, gave us the victory."
After dropping the doubles point, the Vikings entered singles play needing to win four out of the six matches, a feat they have done just six times this season. The Titans got out to a 2-0 lead after capturing a 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 4 singles, before Jorg Van Der Vloet gave CSU its first point of the day with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the No. 5 spot.
Matt Ford, who recorded his ninth straight victory Friday, evened the score at 2-2 following a 7-5, 6-1 victory at No. 6 singles. Ford also became the first Viking to record 20 wins this season, improving his overall record to 20-14 on the year. Senior Yannick Goossens gave the Vikings a 3-2 edge shortly after, posting a 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 1 singles spot.
Following a Detroit win at No. 2 singles, the match was tied at 3-3 with the outcome of the contest resting on the result of the No. 4 singles match. After dropping the first set (6-4), Marks came back to post a 6-3 win during the second set , forcing a third set. Marks got out to an early lead during the final frame and held on to claim a 6-2 victory, giving the Vikings the 4-3 win over the Titans.
"Jorg got us off to a solid start in singles play with his victory, and was followed up by Matt Ford and Yannick," Etzkin said. "I am always comfortable with Matt Ford and Yannick playing in pressure situations and it was great to see them get the wins. Nolan pulled out a huge victory for us and he has been getting better and better throughout the season, which hopefully continues tomorrow.
"After you hold seed in the tournament you can play loose, which we are definitely looking forward to doing against Wright State. Tomorrow will be a tough match, but we will come out strong and be ready to play," Etzkin said.
Cleveland State will now face No. 1 Wright State in a semifinal contest tomorrow (Saturday, April 28) at a time and place yet to be determined because of the weather in the Indianapolis area.
