KALAMAZOO, MICH. – The Cleveland State women's tennis team opened up the 2020 spring campaign Monday afternoon, picking up a hard fought 4-3 victory over Western Michigan.

PDF BOX SCORE | Cleveland State 4, Western Michigan 3

Quick Hits
• Cleveland State is now 2-0 in season openers under head coach Frank Polito.
• Monday's victory over Western Michigan marked the first win over the Broncos in program history.
• With her win at No. 3 singles, Blanche Lenoan now has 41 career wins, needing just nine more victories to eclipse the 50-win mark for her Cleveland State career.

The Match
Cleveland State was able to earn the early 1-0 lead after claiming the doubles point against the Broncos, picking up wins at the top two spots. At the top of the lineup, Klara Mrcela and Lara Prosenjak earned a 6-4 victory for their team-leading eighth doubles win of the year, while Blanche Lenoan and Kateryna Avram cruised to a 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles.

After WMU was able to even the score with a win at No. 5 singles, Prosenjak put the Vikings back on top following her win at the No. 3 singles spot. Prosenjak, who earned just her second singles win of the year, posted a 6-3, 6-3 victory over WMU's Kristina Tiraspolsky to give the Vikings a 2-1 advantage.

The Broncos responded with wins at the No. 4 and No. 1 singles spots, gaining a 3-2 lead with two singles matches left to finish.

The Vikings were then able to even the match with a win at No. 3 singles, as Lenoan battled for a 7-5, 7-5 win over WMU's Gaberiela Slavova for her team-leading seventh singles win this season.

Cleveland State's clinching point came from Avram at the No. 6 spot then, as she was able to pick up a 7-6(2) tiebreak victory in her opening set against Valerie Riegraf, and then closed out the match with a 6-3 win in the second frame.

From The Sidelines
"This was a great team win today, we played some really good doubles which carried over into singles and we were able to keep the energy going from the start of the match to the finish. It was great that we were able to get three first sets in singles, and then go on to close all of them out in straight sets. Overall, I thought we played really well and we kept our composure despite a loud WMU crowd. We will enjoy this great start to our season, but get back to practice soon and prepare for our next matches." – head coach Frank Polito

Up Next
The Vikings will be idle until Saturday, February 1, when they host John Carroll and St. Francis (PA) in a home opener doubleheader.

The Results
Doubles (2, 1)
1. Mrcela/Prosenjak (CSU) def. Tjon-a-Joe/Tiraspolsky (WMU), 6-4
2. Lenoan/Avram (CSU) def. Jack/Riegraf (WMU), 6-1
3. Schoenberg/Payne (CSU) vs. Slavova/Zieglar (WMU), 4-5, unf.

Singles (5, 2, 4, 1, 3, 6)
1. Femke Tjon-a-Joe (WMU) def. Klara Mrcela (CSU), 6-4, 6-3
2. Lara Prosenjak (CSU) def. Kristina Tiraspolsky (WMU), 6-3, 6-3
3. Blanche Lenoan (CSU) def. Gabriela Slavova (WMU), 7-5, 7-5
4. Lindsey Zieglar (WMU) def. Siân Payne (CSU), 6-3, 6-3
5. Kaitlyn Rogosch (WMU) def. Gaby Schoenberg (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
6. Kateryna Avram (CSU) def. Valerie Riegraf (WMU), 7-6(2), 6-3