CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's tennis team opened the 2015 spring season Sunday afternoon, dropping a hard fought contest to Northern Illinois, 4-3.

"I thought this was a good starting point for us, the match didn't quite end like I hoped it would, but I thought we competed really hard in both doubles and singles," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We definitely had some chances to win this match today but we just weren't able to pull out the victory. The depth of our lineup was our strength – picking up wins at 4, 5, and 6 singles – and it was good to see them really battling in the bottom half of our lineup today."

Northern Illinois was able to get on the board early, picking up two quick wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles to jump out to a 1-0 lead. The Huskies then extended their advantage to 3-0 with wins at No. 3 and No. 1 singles, before Victoria Bensimon gave CSU its first point of the day.

Bensimon was able to pick up a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory at No. 4 singles, improving her season singles record to 8-3.

The Huskies were then able to clinch the match at No. 2 singles, as Mathilde Orange came up short in her three-set match despite a tough battle.

Cleveland State's final two points came from Ellen Folkers and Princess Gbadamosi, as Folkers picked up a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles and Gbadamosi earned a 2-6, 7-5, 10-6 victory at No. 6 singles. Folkers' win gives her a team-best 9-1 singles record this season, and marks her eighth straight victory dating back to the fall season.

"Moving forward we know what we need to work on in practice, including working hard on our doubles play. We are getting into the tough stretch of our schedule over the next three matches, and we will definitely have to be prepared when we go into those matches," Etzkin said.

Next up for the Vikings will be a contest at Ohio State on Thursday (Jan. 29), with the Vikings facing the Buckeyes at 1:00 p.m.

Northern Illinois 4, Cleveland State 3

Doubles:

1. N. Youel/Alvarez (NIU) def. Schober/Bensimon (CSU), 6-1
2. Folkers/Golick (CSU) vs. Malkin/Stefancic (NIU), 2-5, unf
3. De La Torre/Gates (NIU) def. Orange/Gbadamosi (CSU), 6-1

Singles:

1. Nelle Youel (NIU) def. Lauren Golick (CSU), 6-4, 6-3
2. Cristina Alvarez (NIU) def. Mathilde Orange (CSU), 7-5, 3-6, 6-1
3. Mary Malkin (NIU) def. Jana Schober (CSU), 6-4, 6-2
4. Victory Bensimon (CSU) def. Arantza De La Torre (NIU), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
5. Ellen Folkers (CSU) def. Jennifer Gates (NIU), 6-2, 6-4
6. Princess Gbadamosi (CSU) def. Abigail Dekkinga (NIU), 2-6, 7-5, 10-6

Order of Finish

Doubles: 1, 3
Singles: 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 6