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CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State women's tennis team will enter the 2013 Horizon League Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will begin play against sixth-seeded Wright State in a first round contest on Friday, April 26. The winner of Friday's first round match will go on to play No. 2 Youngstown State in a semifinal matchup on Saturday (April 27), with that winner advancing to the Championship match on Sunday (April 28). All three rounds of the Horizon League Tournament will be played at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Ind.
Complete 2013 Horizon League Tournament Bracket
Getting To The No. 3 Seed: After entering the final week of regular season play with a 4-2 league record and tied for second in the league standings, the Vikings solidified their No. 3 seed with a 7-0 sweep at Wright State (April 21). Youngstown State, Detroit and Cleveland State all finished the regular season with a 5-2 record - but YSU won the tie-breaker with a 2-0 record vs. CSU/Detroit, while CSU went 1-1 against YSU/Detroit and Detroit was 0-2 against CSU/YSU.
CSU In The Tournament: Under head coach Brian Etzkin the Vikings have posted a 7-11 record in the Horizon League Tournament, and have advanced to the Championship match the past two seasons. Both times that CSU has made it to the Championship match, the Vikings have fallen to UIC - 16-time league champion.
Entering The Weekend: The Vikings are currently on a three-match win streak and have won six of their last eight contests. Overall this season CSU stands at 12-10 - picking up six of their wins at home and six on the road.
Against The League This Season: The Vikings posted a 5-2 record in league play this year, including three 7-0 sweeps over Green Bay, Valparaiso and Wright State. CSU's other two victories came against Detroit (5-2) and Milwaukee (4-3), while its losses came at the hands of Youngstown State (5-2) and UIC (5-2).
Winning Ways: The entire CSU singles lineup enters the tournament on win streaks, led by Alex Bush who has won five straight heading into Friday's contest. The rest of the lineup - Mathilde Orange, Alex Power, Kara Sherwood, Maria Lazaris and Nicole Janek - have all won three straight heading into this weekend.
Lazaris Closing In On Win #70: Maria Lazaris, who has won eight of her last nine matches, is just one win shy of becoming the fourth Viking all-time to post 70 career singles wins. Lazaris has been a staple for the Vikings at the No. 5 spot this season, posting a 13-9 record overall this spring and a 10-5 mark at No. 5 singles.
Sherwood Leading The Vikings: Kara Sherwood has posted a team-best 18-12 record this year, just two wins away from notching her second 20-win season. Sherwood has played the majority of the season at No. 4 singles, owning an 11-4 mark at that spot. Sherwood has won five of her last six matches, and posted a 5-2 record in league play this year.
Etzkin Records Win #150: Last Sunday's 7-0 sweep at Wright State marked head coach Brian Etzkin's 150th win with the women's team. Etzkin has led the Vikings to 15 or more wins during seven seasons - including a program-best 18 wins during 2005-06 and 2007-08.