Contact: Renee Adam

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State women's tennis team will continue Horizon League play at home this weekend, hosting UIC and Valparaiso in two crucial matchups. The Vikings will open the weekend against UIC on Saturday (April 13) and will then host Valparaiso on Sunday (April 14).

Heading into the weekend CSU stands at 9-9 overall and 3-1 in league play, and owns a perfect 4-0 record at home this season. The Vikings have won three of their last four matches, with their lone loss during that stretch coming as a 5-2 decision at Youngstown State.

***Time & Location Changes***
• Saturday's match against UIC will now begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Chagrin Valley Athletic Club (17260 Snyder Rd., Chagrin Falls, Ohio, 44023).

• Sunday's match against Valparaiso is still scheduled for an 11:00 a.m. start at Paramount Tennis Club in Westlake, Ohio.

Against UIC: The Vikings have struggled against the Flames over the last 10 seasons, as UIC owns a 14-0 record during that span. Two of those losses have come in the Horizon League Championship match - as the Vikings finished as runner-up behind UIC following both the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Flames enter the weekend with an 11-5 overall record and a 3-1 mark in league play - most recently falling to Detroit - ending their 17-year league win streak.

Against Valparaiso: CSU's record against the Crusaders is just the opposite, as the Vikings own a perfect 7-0 mark against Valparaiso under head coach Brian Etzkin. All seven victories have come as sweeps, including two in the Horizon League Tournament. Valparaiso is 1-17 on the season (0-4 HL), and will face Youngstown State prior to Sunday's match against the Vikings. 

Lazaris Closing In On 70 Wins: Senior Maria Lazaris, who is one of three Vikings with double-digit wins this season, is just four wins shy of becoming the fourth Viking all-time to reach 70 wins on their career. Lazaris currently ranks fourth all-time at CSU with 66 career singles victories.

Sherwood Moves Up Singles Wins List: Junior Kara Sherwood, who went 2-0 in singles play over the weekend, moved into eighth place on the all-time singles wins list at CSU - owning a 53-40 singles record on her career. Sherwood has a team-best 15-11 singles record this season, including a 10-6 mark during the spring.

Singles Win Streaks: Four Vikings enter the weekend having won at least two straight singles matches, including Nicole Janekand Maria Lazaris who are both on five-match win streaks. Janek and Lazaris have both picked up victories against Green Bay, Milwaukee, Youngstown State, Detroit and Akron during their win streaks - Janek at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots and Lazaris at No. 4 and No. 5 singles.

Bush Picks Up Two Wins: Junior Alex Bush got back in the win column last weekend, picking up her first league victories at Milwaukee and Green Bay. Prior to her victory against the Panthers last Saturday (April 6), Bush was on a six-match losing skid, with her last victory coming against Duquesne on March 2. Bush is closing in on the top-10 career singles wins list at CSU - needing 10 more victories to crack the standings.

Janek & Lazaris Stay Perfect In League Play: With victories against Milwaukee and Green Bay, the duo of Nicole Janek andMaria Lazaris stayed perfect in league play, entering the weekend with 4-0 singles records.

...CSU Doubles Team Perfect In League Play: Cleveland State's No. 3 doubles team of Nicole Janek and Mathilde Orange are also perfect in league play so far this season, owning a 5-3 mark overall and a 4-0 record in league action. Janek and Orange have been playing at the No. 3 doubles spot since the middle of March and enter the weekend on a five-match win streak.