CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's tennis team came up just short Saturday evening, falling to Detroit, 4-3. The Vikings picked up all three points in singles play, with Ellen Folkers, Mathilde Orange, and Aleksandra Golawska picking up wins.

"I thought today's match proved that we can be in any match we are playing as long as we play focused, confident tennis," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We knew that the doubles point was going to be key to today's match, and we just weren't able to keep up with the strong players that Detroit had. I definitely think if we keep improving we could come out victorious if we were to face Detroit again."

Cleveland State quickly found itself down 2-0 to start the match against the Titans, dropping the doubles point and falling at No. 4 singles. The Vikings were able to respond with a pair of wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots though, evening the score at 2-2.

CSU's first two singles wins came from Folkers at No. 2 singles (6-0, 6-2) and Orange at No. 3 singles (6-2, 6-3). Folkers' win improved her to 17-6 overall this season and 9-5 this spring – both team-highs.

The Vikings were then able to gain a 3-2 advantage following a 6-4, 6-1 Golawska win at No. 6 singles – her second straight singles win and her 10^th of the season.

Detroit then responded with wins at No. 5 and No. 1 singles, earning the 4-3 victory.

"We had chances to win on all of the courts today, which is promising moving forward. As long as we keep improving and working hard I believe we can do great things in the final stretch of the season. Multiple players are having a good stretch of tennis for us, including Aleksandra who is coming into her own as a player, and playing with some confidence which is great to see. Hopefully we will be able to right the ship against Oakland tomorrow, and carry that momentum forward," Etzkin said.

The Vikings will continue Horizon League play tomorrow afternoon (Sunday, March 29), hosting Oakland at 2:00 p.m.

Detroit 4, Cleveland State 3

Doubles:

1. Bensimon/Folkers (CSU) vs. Davydova/Slizovskaya (DET), 2-5, unf
2. Sujashvili/Laskutova (DET) def. Orange/Gbadamosi (CSU), 6-1
3. Van Der Goot/Kulikovskay (DET) def. Schober/Golawska (CSU), 6-3

Singles:

1. Sasha Nionova (DET) def. Victoria Bensimon (CSU), 7-5, 7-5
2. Ellen Folkers (CSU) def. Irina Slizovskaya (DET), 6-0, 6-2
3. Mathilde Orange (CSU) def. Valeryia Kulikovskay (DET), 6-2, 6-3
4. Anna Davydova (DET) def. Princess Gbadamosi (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
5. Nino Sujashvili (DET) def. Jana Schober (CSU), 6-3, 0-6, 6-3
6. Aleksandra Golawska (CSU) def. Nynke Van Der Goot (DET), 6-4, 6-1