HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Cleveland State women's tennis team closed out its annual Spring Break Trip Wednesday afternoon, picking up a 4-3 victory at Sam Houston State. The win improves the Vikings to 6-8 on the season, and marks their third win out of the last four contests.
"This was a great team win for us today, we played well in doubles and fought hard on all six singles courts," associate head coach Frank Polito said. "I think the team is finally seeing all of their hard work in practice pay off and we are starting to peak at the right time. Now we can enjoy the rest of our Spring Break Trip, and get in the right mindset to hit the courts hard when we get back in preparation for Horizon League play."
The Vikings were able to pick up the doubles point for the fourth straight match Wednesday, picking up wins at the top two spots. At No. 1 doubles Victoria Bensimon and Jana Schober earned a 6-3 victory, while Isabella Spindler and Princess Gbadamosi posted a 7-5 win at No. 2 doubles.
Freshman Blanche Lenoan added to Cleveland State's lead to begin singles play, picking up a 6-2, 6-4 victory at the No. 6 spot. The win marked Lenoan's 11th of the season, and her third out of the last four matches.
The two teams then traded the next two singles points, with Sam Houston State picking up a win at No. 5 singles before Spindler earned a 6-4, 6-3 victory at the top of the lineup to give Cleveland State a 3-1 advantage.
Sam Houston State then made it 3-2 with a win at the No. 3 spot, but a 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 victory from Bensimon at No. 2 singles clinched the match for the Vikings and gave the senior her team-leading 13th singles win of the year. Bensimon now has 67 career singles wins, and is just three wins shy of becoming the seventh Viking all-time to reach the 70-win milestone.
Next up for the Vikings will be Horizon League play, beginning with a two-match homestand against UIC (Saturday, March 25) and Valparaiso (Sunday, March 26) in the Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion.
Cleveland State 4, Sam Houston State 3
Doubles
1. Bensimon/Schober (CSU) def. Gettwart/Wee (SHSU), 6-3
2. Spindler/Gbadamosi (CSU) def. Milanovic/Casey (SHSU), 7-5
3. Barkovic/Mitchell (SHSU) def. Golawska/Lenoan (CSU), 6-3
Singles
1. Isabella Spindler (CSU) def. Ema Barkovic (SHSU), 6-4, 6-3
2. Victoria Bensimon (CSU) def. Fabienne Gettwart (SHSU), 6-0, 3-6, 6-2
3. Khee Yen Wee (SHSU) def. Aleksandra Golawska (CSU), 6-3, 6-4
4. Carrie Casey (SHSU) def. Princess Gbadamosi (CSU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
5. Mila Milanovic (SHSU) def. Jana Schober (CSU), 6-1, 6-3
6. Blanche Lenoan (CSU) def. Caitlyn Mitchell (SHSU), 6-2, 6-4
