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AKRON, Ohio - After an 11-day break from competition the Cleveland State women's tennis team returned to action Saturday evening, dropping a tough 4-3 contest at Akron. The Vikings, who are now 6-8 on the season, picked up their three points off of three singles wins against the Zips.
"Our doubles play was much improved today, we are playing better and better every time we are on the courts," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "The doubles point definitely came back to haunt us today, because we were just a tiebreaker in doubles away from winning the match. But, if we play doubles like we did today for the rest of the season we will be in good shape moving forward. In singles, the bottom of our lineup played very well, showing our depth and how strong our lineup is. We just couldn't claw our way into the sets in the top three singles matches, but the effort was there from all six singles players today."
The Zips were able to get out to an early 1-0 lead after picking up victories in two of the three doubles matches. The No. 3 doubles team of Mathilde Orange and Nicole Janek picked up the lone win for Cleveland State, earning a 9-8 (1) victory.
Akron then posted two quick wins at No. 2 and No. 1 singles to gain a 3-0 advantage before the Vikings were able to get on the board with three straight singles wins. Kara Sherwood gave CSU its first point of the night with a 7-5, 6-1 victory at the No. 4 spot - marking the 50th win of her career and improving her overall record to 12-10 this season.
Maria Lazaris was the next Viking to post a victory on the night, earning a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles. Nicole Janek then tied the match at 3-3 with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles, picking up her sixth win out of her last seven matches. The No. 3 singles match between Cleveland State's Alex Power and Akron's Prang Pantusart was the final match on the courts, with Pantusart claiming a 6-2, 6-2 straight set victory - clinching the 4-3 win for the Zips.
The Vikings will begin Horizon League play tomorrow (Sunday, March 24), as they host Detroit at 3:00 p.m. at Paramount Tennis Club in Westlake, Ohio.
Akron 4, Cleveland State 3
Doubles:
1. PANTUSART, Prang/SHKUNDINA, Olga (UA) def. BUSH, Alex/SHERWOOD, Kara (CSU) 8-4
2. JOGASURIA, Angelina/COHEN, Madison (UA) def. POWER, Alex/LAZARIS, Maria (CSU) 9-8 (4)
3. ORANGE, Mathilde/JANEK, Nicole (CSU) def. JOGASURIA, Angelika/DUVA, Andrea (UA) 9-8 (1)
Singles:
1. JOGASURIA, Angelina (UA) def. Orange, Mathilde (CSU) 6-0, 6-2
2. SHKUNDINA, Olga (UA) def. BUSH, Alex (CSU) 6-2, 6-0
3. PANTUSART, Prang (UA) def. Power, Alex (CSU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Sherwood, Kara (CSU) def. JOGASURIA, Angelika (UA) 7-5, 6-1
5. Lazaris, Maria (CSU) def. LAZDINA, Signe (UA) 6-4, 6-0
6. Janek, Nicole (CSU) def. COHEN, Madison (UA) 6-4, 6-2