Vikings Look To Extend Winstreak With A Trio Of Matches This Weekend - Cleveland State University

Posted: Apr 06, 2016

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's tennis team will put its four-match winstreak on the line this weekend, as the Vikings return home to host a trio of matches against Youngstown State, IUPUI and Oberlin.

Follow The Vikings Live!
Viking fans that are unable to attend this weekend's matches will still be able to follow the action live, as Live Scoring will be available via the women's tennis schedule page, or by clicking the links below:
Cleveland State vs. Youngstown State Live Scoring
Cleveland State vs. IUPUI Live Scoring
Cleveland State vs. Oberlin Live Scoring

Orange Notches 50^th Career Singles Win
After picking up a pair of singles wins at No. 2 singles last weekend, Mathilde Orange became the 12^th Viking all-time to notch 50 career singles wins. Orange recorded her 50^th victory at Detroit, and enters the weekend just five wins shy of moving into the top-10 on the CSU Singles Wins list. For the season, Orange is 11-16 overall and 6-9 during the spring season.

Gbadamosi & Bensimon Close Behind
The junior duo of Princess Gbadamosi and Victoria Bensimon are also closing in on 50 career singles victories, as Bensimon enters the weekend with 46 career wins and Gbadamosi enters the weekend with 45 career victories. After getting off to a slow start to begin the spring season, both players have picked up their play as of late, as Bensimon enters Friday's match on a four-match singles winstreak and Gbadamosi has won three out of her last four singles matches.

Vikings Start League Play With 4-0 Record
For just the third time under head coach Brian Etzkin the Vikings have opened Horizon League play with a perfect 4-0 record, also doing so during the 2011-12 and 2009-10 seasons. Cleveland State is one of three teams to be undefeated in Horizon League play this year (Youngstown State & UIC), and with five more league wins the Vikings would mark their first undefeated Horizon League season under Etzkin. During Etzkin's tenure, Cleveland State's best Horizon League regular season record has been 7-1 (2013-14, 2011-12, 2010-11 & 2009-10).

Bensimon Perfect In Horizon League Singles Action
Junior Victoria Bensimon enters Friday's match against Youngstown State with a perfect 4-0 mark in Horizon League singles play this season, and owns a 16-2 record in league play for her career. This season, Bensimon has been playing at No. 5 singles during league action, and is the only Viking to be perfect in league singles play.

Vikings In The MMTP
Entering the weekend Cleveland State is undefeated in its new on-campus home, owning a 3-0 record in the Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion. So far this season the Vikings have notched wins over Akron (4-3), Wright State (4-3), and Northern Kentucky (6-1) in the MMTP.

Vikings Tabbed Fourth In Horizon League Preseason Poll
Earlier this season the Horizon League released its Women's Tennis Preseason Poll, with the Vikings tabbed to finish fourth. Cleveland State finished behind preseason favorite Youngstown State, UIC (2^nd) and Detroit (3^rd), while Milwaukee (5^th), Wright State (6^th), Northern Kentucky (7^th), Oakland (8^th), Valparaiso (9^th), and Green Bay (10^th) rounded out the poll. This is the fourth year that the league has released a preseason poll, with the Vikings earning a top-four selection in all four polls.

Cleveland State Tennis Team, Alumni & Friends Banquet
The 14^th annual Team, Alumni & Friends banquet will be held next Friday, April 15. The banquet will begin at 6:00 p.m. with dinner, player recognition, team slide show, and senior speeches. For those Viking fans that are interested in attending this year's banquet see the RSVP Form below for more details and RSVP information.
Cleveland State Tennis Banquet RSVP Form

Scouting The Penguins
Youngstown State enters Friday's contest with a matching 4-0 record in Horizon League play this season, and stands at 6-10 overall this year. The Penguins have been led by the trio of Annina Brendel, Sofia Macias, and Nehel Sahni during league play, as all three are 4-0 in Horizon League singles action this year. YSU is the two-time defending Horizon League Tournament champions.

This will be the 18^th meeting between the two teams over the last 13 seasons, with YSU owning an 11-6 record in the overall series.

Scouting The Jaguars
IUPUI enters the weekend with a 6-12 overall record this season, and has won three of its last five matches. Cleveland State will be the second Horizon League team that IUPUI will face this year, as the Jaguars picked up a 5-2 victory against Valparaiso earlier this season.

This will be just the third meeting between the two teams over the last 13 seasons and the first since the 2006-07 season. Entering Saturday's contest the overall series is tied at 1-1.

Scouting The Yeowomen
Oberlin, an NCAA Division III program, enters the weekend with a 9-7 overall record this season, but has dropped its last two contests against Case Western and New York University. The Yeowomen will take on Wooster and Walsh prior to Saturday's contest at Cleveland State.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams under head coach Brian Etzkin.