March 28, 2012
Contact: Renee Adam
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QUICK SETS
The Vikings will finally return home this weekend, as they host Western Michigan and Youngstown State in a pair of contests. Friday's non-conference match against Western Michigan will begin at 1:00 p.m., while Saturday's Horizon League contest with Youngstown State is slated for a 4:00 p.m. start. Cleveland State enters the week with a 6-8 (1-0 HL) record and will be trying to continue their 26-league match win streak.
THE OPPONENTS
Western Michigan enters Friday's contest with an 11-7 overall record this spring, winning two out of its last three matches. Five of WMU's wins have come against Horizon League teams, including Detroit, Green Bay, Butler, Valparaiso and UIC.
Youngstown State stands at 6-6 on the season and 1-0 in league play, also topping Detroit (4-3) in its Horizon Leauge opener. Against Detroit, the Penguins posted their four points on four singles wins from Tariq Ismail (No. 1), Dawoud Kabli (No. 4), Rodrigo Campos (No. 5) and Felipe Rosa (No. 6).
Under head coach Brian Etzkin the Vikings are 13-3 against Youngstown State, and have won six consecutive regular season contests entering Saturday.
HORIZON LEAGUE WIN STREAK
Cleveland State extended its Horizon League regular season win streak last weekend, as they have now won 26 consecutive league contests. The Vikings, who are 1-0 in league play this year, have posted perfect 7-0 records during the past three seasons. CSU has also now won six straight league openers, dating back to the 2006-07 season.
CLOSING THE DEAL
Matt Ford once again captured the clinching point for the Vikings last Friday, claiming a 0-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 6 singles against Detroit. Ford, who has won three out of his last five matches, leads the team with a 9-5 record this spring and has a 12-14 overall record this year.
PICKING UP THE DOUBLES
For the first time in the past four matches CSU was able to claim the doubles point last Friday, with wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Nolan Marks and Ali Shabib earned their team-leading seventh victory at No. 1 doubles against the Titans, and are now one of eight tandems in the league to have at least seven wins this spring.
GOOSSENS ON WIN LIST
Yannick Goossens enters the week with 77 career singles wins, ranking fourth all-time at Cleveland State. Goossens needs 11 more wins to move into third place on the all-time singles wins list which is currently held by Ryan Hamning (2006-10), who posted an 87-45 record during his career.
NEXT UP
The Vikings will stay at home next weekend, hosting Green Bay in their lone match of the week. CSU will face the Phoenix at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 7 at Peak Performance Center in Broadview Heights, Ohio.
