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Contact: Kevin Zeise
Sept. 29, 2003
CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State men's tennis team will finally play its first matches of the season when they travel to Valparaiso, Ind., for a pair of neutral-site matchups. On Saturday, the Vikings will open Horizon League play against UW-Green Bay, while Sunday finds Cleveland State taking on Western Illinois. The women's tennis team is off this week after losing its first match of the season to UW-Green Bay on Sun., Sept. 28.
About the Viking Men
The men's team opened the season at the St. Bonaventure Invitational on Sept. 12-14, with each team member picking up at least one singles win. Brett Aronson (Ashtabula, Ohio/Lakeside) led the way, going a perfect 3-0 at No. 3 and 4 singles. In all, the men finished 9-9 in singles matches and 5-4 in doubles.
Head Coach Brian Etzkin
In his second season as head coach of the Viking tennis program, Brian Etzkin has compiled a combined record of 12-44 (9-19 men, 3-25 women). Etzkin has been been given the task reviving the men's tennis program, which returned in 2000 after an eight-year hiatus. Prior to his arrival at Cleveland State, Etzkin spent two years as an assistant at Western Illinois before being named an assistant coach at Michigan State.
About UW-Green Bay
The Phoenix will open the match play portion of the season this weekend as well, opening with Valparaiso on Fri., Oct. 3, before taking on Cleveland State the following day. Green Bay has played in a pair of non-scoring tournaments, compiling a 19-14 combined record in singles. Jarett Cascino has a 4-2 mark in singles to pace the Phoenix. UWGB took last season's meeting, 6-1 and finished second in the Horizon League.
About Western Illinois
The Leathernecks will also be opening match play with a busy week, taking on Eastern Illinois on Tues., Sept. 30, and IPFW on Wed., Oct. 1, before meeting Green Bay on Sat., Oct. 4. WIU has played at the Truman State and Western Illinois Invitationals, picking up a combined record of 38-26. Pat Lowder leads the way for the Leathernecks with a 6-2 mark on the season.
Perfect Start
Freshman Sarah Galon (Waianae, Hawaii/Leilehua) has gotten off to a perfect 4-0 start on the season at No. 1 singles. Galon picked up her second win of the season in singles on Sunday, defeating UW-Green Bay's Alexis Watson, 6-4, 6-3. Galon is also unbeaten in doubles play with partner Morgan Ungerott (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) at No. 1 doubles.
Up Next
The women's team will have the next action, traveling to Buffalo for a dual match with the Bulls on Sat., Oct. 11. The men will have their home opener on Sun., Sept. 19, with a match against IPFW. The women will also play the Mastodons on Sept. 19.
