March 1, 2012
Contact: Renee Adam
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State men's tennis team will continue the spring season this weekend with two matches against Michigan State and Case Western Reserve. CSU will travel to East Lansing, Mich. for a 6:00 p.m. contest against the Spartans on Saturday (March 3), before returning home to host Case in a 2:00 p.m. match on Sunday (March 4). Entering the weekend Cleveland State is 4-4 on the season after splitting its contests last week, and has won four out of its last five matches.
The Vikings will be trying for their second win against Michigan State under head coach Brian Etzkin this weekend, while they also hold a 2-0 record against Case during his tenure. CSU's lone victory over MSU came during the 2009-10 season, and included a No. 2 singles win from current Viking Yannick Goossens.
Freshman Nolan Marks will put his four-match win streak on the line this weekend, after collecting a pair of victories at No. 5 singles against Northern Illinois and Illinois State. Along with Marks, the duo of Matt Kuelker and Jorg Van Der Vloet also enter the weekend on a four-match win streak, picking up two victories at No. 3 doubles last week.
After getting off to a slow start in doubles action, the Vikings have made improvements over the past few weeks, as they have picked up the doubles point in five straight matches. Over the first three contests of the season, CSU won just one doubles match. The teams of Kuelker and van der Vloet and Marks and Ali Shabib lead the Vikings with four wins each.
THE OPPONENTS
Michigan State enters the weekend with an 8-6 record and will face Ball State before the CSU match on Saturday. The Spartans have had a tough schedule to open the season, as four of their losses have come to top-35 opponents. MSU has already faced two Horizon League schools this year, defeating Wright State (7-0) and Detroit (6-1).
Case Western Reserve enters the weekend with a 5-4 overall record and will face Hope and Oberlin prior to Sunday's contest. The Spartans opened the season with two straight victories and are currently on a three-match win streak.
