Vikings Improve To 4-0 In #HLWTEN Play With 4-3 Victory At Wright State

Vikings Improve To 4-0 In #HLWTEN Play With 4-3 Victory At Wright State

SPRINGBORO, Ohio – Following a hard fought 4-3 victory at Wright State Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland State women's tennis team picked up its fifth straight victory, improving to 10-8 overall this season and 4-0 in Horizon League play.

Cleveland State's 4-0 start in Horizon League play marks the fourth time under head coach Brian Etzkin that the Vikings have won four straight matches to start the league slate, including the second straight year.

Sunday's victory also marked Cleveland State's 12th win over the Raiders out of the last 13 matchups and improved Cleveland State's record to 15-4 against Wright State during Etzkin's tenure.

"This was such an exciting college tennis match," associate head coach Frank Polito said. "Both teams fought until the very end of the match and it came down to Victoria – who is having an outstanding senior season – and she just wasn't going to quit fighting until she got the victory today. I always enjoy when a match comes down to Victoria's court, because she is such a fighter and she embraces the opportunity to lead the team to a win."

"We have been playing great doubles over the last few matches, and that continued today which allowed us to get the early point. Although we dropped five first sets in singles play, the team didn't give up and the amount of heart and fight that we have was evident with our victory today," Polito continued.

For the third time out of the first four Horizon League contests, Cleveland State was able to come away with the doubles point, picking up a 6-1 victory at the top spot from Victoria Bensimon and Jana Schober and a 7-6 (7) win at No. 3 doubles from Aleksandra Golawska and Blanche Lenoan.

The Vikings then fell behind at the start of singles play, with Wright State picking up wins at the No. 1 and No. 4 spots before Schober evened the match at 2-2 with a victory at No. 5 singles. Schober picked up a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 win against the Raiders, improving to 9-9 this spring.

The Raiders were then once again able to regain the lead with a victory at No. 3 singles, before Lenoan and Bensimon picked up back-to-back wins at the No. 6 and No. 2 spots, respectively, to give Cleveland State the 4-3 victory.

Lenoan, who stands at 9-9 this spring, improved to 3-1 against league opponents with a 6-1, 6-3 victory Sunday afternoon, and notched her sixth win out of the last eight matches.

For the second straight contest Bensimon was the final Viking on the court, playing for the clinching point at No. 2 singles. After dropping a tight first set (7-6 (5)), Bensimon rebounded and picked up a 6-2 victory in the second set and a 7-6 (6) tiebreak victory in the third set to clinch the match for the Vikings.

Bensimon now has a team-high 17-12 overall record this season, including a perfect 4-0 record in Horizon League play. Bensimon, who notched the 71st victory of her career Sunday, now owns a 25-2 record against league opponents in regular season matches, and has won 17 straight league contests.

The Vikings will return to action next weekend when they host Oakland (Saturday, April 8) and Detroit (Sunday, April 9) in their final home matches of the 2017 spring season.

Cleveland State 4, Wright State 3

Doubles
1. Bensimon/Schober (CSU) def. Culbertson/Turner (WSU), 6-1
2. Haller/Verstrepen (WSU) def. Spindler/Gbadamosi (CSU), 6-3
3. Golawska/Lenoan (CSU) def. Cloern/Morgan (WSU), 7-6 (7)

Singles
1. Karoline Haller (WSU) def. Isabella Spindler (CSU), 6-3, 6-3
2. Victoria Bensimon (CSU) def. Linsey Verstrepen (WSU), 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (6)
3. Elaine Cloern (WSU) def. Aleksandra Golawska (CSU), 7-6 (7), 2-6, 6-2
4. Haily Morgan (WSU) def. Princess Gbadamosi (CSU), 6-4, 6-4
5. Jana Schober (CSU) def. Vanessa Madrigal (WSU), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
6. Blanche Lenoan (CSU) def. Aby Madrigal (WSU), 6-1, 6-3