Oct. 5, 2003
VALPARAISO, Ind. - Paul Haley picked up the winning point as the Cleveland State men's tennis team picked up its first win of the season on Sunday against Western Illinois, 4-3, in Valparaiso, Ind.
With the match deadlocked at 3-3 after all the other matches had ended, Haley finished off Brent Wikgren, 6-4, 7-5, to give the Vikings (1-1) the win, after falling down 3-0. Haley also teamed with Dan Singer to defeat Rob Coventry and Sisay Sellassie, 8-5, in doubles to make him the only double winner for CSU on the day.
"It felt great to have the support of the entire team behind me," Haley said. "It was pretty intense, ending the match with a couple of tough games, but nobody ever gave up, we just kept cheering each other on and supporting each other."
Western Illinois took the lead by winning the doubles point, with Matt Kinst and Drew Forsberg defeating Jay Tee and Eric Winn, 8-6, at No. 1 doubles and Brent Wikgren and Greg Nelson knocking off Jordan Reynolds and Chris Whitten at No. 3 doubles, 8-3. The Vikings then fell behind 3-0 when Sellassie and Nelson defeated Singer and Whitten at No. 3 and No. 6 singles, respectively.
"Things really weren't looking too good at that point," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "But we had four veterans left on the court, and they never gave up, even though Western Illinois thought they had us. It was like the returners didn't want to get back in the van for the long drive home without the win."
Reynolds got the turnaround started by winning nine straight games after starting his match down 4-1. He took Forsberg down at No. 5 singles, 6-4, 6-4. Tee then picked up a win, rebounding from a 6-2 first-set loss to win, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1. Winn then defeated Coventry, 7-5, 6-2, to even the match before Haley clinched the win.
"The veterans kept fighting, and never felt they were out of it," Etzkin said. "It was good for the young guys to see, to stick it out and keep going for the win."
The men's team will return to action on Sun., Oct. 19, when they host IPFW at the Malaga Tennis Center at 1 p.m. The women's team will travel to Buffalo, N.Y., on Fri., Oct. 10, for a 7 p.m. match with the Bulls.
