BLOOMFIELD TWP, Mich. – The Cleveland State women's tennis team picked up a 6-1 victory at Oakland Saturday afternoon, improving to 3-0 in Horizon League play and 7-7 overall this season.
The Vikings got out to the early 1-0 lead after sweeping all three doubles matches, marking just the second time this season that Cleveland State has posted wins at all three doubles spots. The No. 1 doubles team of Isabella Spindler and Aleksandra Golawska picked up a 6-3 win, while Mathilde Orange and Princess Gbadamosi posted a 6-2 victory at the No. 2 spot and Victoria Bensimon and Morgan Nix battled for a 7-5 win at No. 3 doubles.
The doubles teams of Spindler/Golawska and Gbadamosi/Orange are both now 3-0 in Horizon League play this season.
"Today's match was a great example of the character of this team, as they continued to fight throughout the entire match even when it had already been decided. I hope they carry this throughout the rest of the Horizon League schedule, and if we do I will be so excited to see what they can do," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Our No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams were able to play ahead the entire time which was nice, and our No. 3 team stormed back after being down 5-1 to pick up the third doubles win for us. Victoria and Morgan were playing some good tennis during their comeback, and hopefully they are on the upswing and can continue this momentum moving forward."
Although Oakland was able to pick up the first singles win at the No. 6 spot to even the match at 1-1, the Vikings were able to sweep the remaining five singles courts for the 6-1 victory.
The trio of Bensimon, Gbadamosi, and Spindler all kept their Horizon League singles records perfect on the season – Bensimon with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 5 singles, Gbadamosi with a 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (7) win at the No. 3 spot and Spindler with a 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory at the top of the lineup.
Also picking up wins for the Vikings against Oakland were Orange and Golawska – Orange with a 6-3. 6-4 win at No. 2 singles and Golawska with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the No. 4 spot. Orange's victory marked the 49th of her career, as she is now just one win shy of becoming the 12th Viking all-time with 50 career singles wins.
"In singles we were able to win the close matches, which was great to see, and really turned this match into a victory for us. Victoria and Aleksandra were able to play from ahead throughout their matches and they didn't waste the opportunity to get the victories. Although it looked like Oakland could storm back at one point in the match, Mathilde took a close two-set match to give us the clinching point. Mathilde had some great focus today, and she didn't give into the distractions and I am very proud of how she played today. Princess was also down in her singles match, but she was able to change her game plan and she found something that worked and got the win. We will now turn our attention to Detroit, which will be a crucial league match for us tomorrow," Etzkin said.
Cleveland State will continue Horizon League play tomorrow (Sunday, April 3), when they travel to Detroit for a crucial 4:00 p.m. contest.
Cleveland State 6, Oakland 1
Doubles:
1. Spindler/Golawska (CSU) def. Blum/Guy (OAK), 6-3
2. Orange/Gbadamosi (CSU) def. Celis/Guevara (OAK), 6-2
3. Bensimon/Nix (CSU) def. Artamonova/Borcuti (OAK), 7-5
Singles:
1. Isabella Spindler (CSU) def. Tamara Blum (OAK), 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. Mathilde Orange (CSU) def. Elizabeth Guy (OAK), 6-3, 6-4
3. Princess Gbadamosi (CSU) def. Karine Celis (OAK), 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (7)
4. Aleksandra Golawska (CSU) def. Daria Artamonova (OAK), 6-1, 6-2
5. Victoria Bensimon (CSU) def. Sofia Borcuti (OAK), 6-3, 6-1
6. Juliana Guevara (CSU) def. Jana Schober (OAK), 6-0, 6-2