March 8, 2012

Contact: Renee Adam

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Cleveland State Men's Tennis Match Notes

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State men's tennis team will head south for their Spring Training Trip next week as they travel to Florida for three matches. CSU will open the trip with a 10:00 a.m. match at Embry-Riddle on Sunday (March 11), before facing Stetson at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday (March 13) and Florida Atlantic at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday (March 14). Cleveland State enters the week with an even 5-5 record and will be playing outside for the first time this season.

The duo of Nolan Marks and Jorg Van Der Vloet enter the week having each won five of their last six singles matches. van der Vloet picked up two wins last weekend, including CSU's lone singles victory at Michigan State and has also posted wins against Illinois State, Buffalo and St. Bonaventure. Marks currently ranks second on the team with a 6-3 singles record and notched his wins against Case, Northern Illinois, Illinois State, Buffalo and Xavier.

The doubles team of Ali Shabib and Marks has also won four out of its last five matches and enters the week with a team-leading 6-2 doubles record. Two of their victories came last weekend, as the duo claimed an 8-5 victory at Michigan State and an 8-5 victory against Case.

Last weekend sophomore Matt Kuelker picked up his first career victory at No. 1 singles, posting a 6-4, 6-3 win against Case. Kuelker, who has 19 career spring victories, has notched 14 at No. 3, four at No. 2 and one at No. 1 singles. This season Kuelker is the third Viking to post a victory at the No. 1 singles spot, joining Yannick Goossens and Shabib.

THE OPPONENTS
Embry-Riddle enters the week with a 7-1 overall record, its lone loss of the season coming to NCAA Division II Barry. The Eagles currently rank second in the NAIA Coaches Top-25 poll and have been led by sophomore Simon Felix who has a perfect 8-0 spring singles record. Embry-Riddle will face Belmont prior to Sunday's match against CSU.

Stetson enters the week ranked 70th in the country and has a 6-2 record on the spring season. Both of the Hatters' losses have come against ranked opponents, No. 37 Memphis (1-6) and No. 72 Arkansas (1-6). Maksim Levanovich has been Stetson's top singles player this season, posting a 7-1 record at the No. 1 spot. The Hatters will face Georgia Southern and Georgia State before Tuesday's match against the Vikings.

Florida Atlantic is currently 7-5 on the season, most recently falling to College of Charleston, 5-2. Two Owls have already picked up 10 wins during the spring season, Chris Janssen with a 10-0 record at No. 2 singles and Taylor Albrecht with a 9-1 record at No. 1 singles and a 1-0 mark at No. 2. The Owls will play three matches (Xavier, George Washington & Bradley) before hosting CSU on Wednesday.