Feb. 28, 2010
Contact: Greg Murphy
ROCKY RIVER, Ohio - Cleveland State head coach Brian Etzkin earned his 100th career victory as the Vikings women's coach, leading CSU to a 7-0 sweep over Oakland on Sunday afternoon at River Oaks Racquet Club.
The victory came after the Vikings fell to Toledo, 5-2, earlier in the day.
"Getting 100 wins as a coach is very special and is a tribute to the players who have come through this program," Etzkin said.
"Today was just a tale of two matches," Etzkin continued. "I was disappointed with our doubles play against Toledo, but was very happy to see the way we rebounded against Oakland. We have to find a way to start playing better doubles on a consistent basis because that point may be the difference in several of our league matches."
CSU's No. 1 doubles team of Catrine Bjerrehus and Charlotte Gibbons picked up an 8-7 (6) win against Toledo, but the Rockets claimed the final two doubles contests to earn the point.
In singles play, the Rockets won four of the six matches to clinch the victory.
Freshman Maria Lazaris battled back after losing the first set, 6-1, to win the final two sets, 6-4, 6-2, and pick up her 11th victory of the season. Junior Sanda Bjelan was the other Viking to earn a singles win, earning a 6-4, 6-2 win at the No. 4 position.
"Maria did a great job of staying focused after losing the first set," Etzkin said. "And Sanda did a nice job of bouncing back after a tough loss on Friday against Bowling Green. She has been so strong mentally and hopefully she can continue to carry that mentality throughout the season."
After the loss to Toledo, the Vikings bounced back to sweep all nine matches against Oakland, winning the three singles contests and all six singles matches in straight sets.
Etzkin gave Lazaris the afternoon off, moving everyone up one spot in the lineup. Mengdi Lu earned her first career singles victory, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 5 singles, while Molly Drake stepped in at the No. 6 position to win, 6-0, 6-0.
"It was nice to see Mengdi get her first career singles win," Etzkin said. "She has been working very hard to get into the lineup and really played well in all three matches this weekend. And Molly has been playing some good tennis when she gets chances. I think that shows the amount of depth we have on this team."
The Vikings will be back in action next Sunday (March 7) when CSU opens Horizon League play with a 2:00 p.m. match against Youngstown State at River Oaks Racquet Club.
Toledo 5, Cleveland State 2
Feb 28, 2010 at Rocky River, Ohio (River Oaks Racquet Club)
Singles competition
1. WODZINSKI, Martina (UT) def. Bjerrehus, Catrine (CSU) 6-1, 6-4
2. Lazaris, Maria (CSU) def. FREY, Ashley (UT) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. ZOUBAREVA, Nadia (UT) def. Janek, Nicole (CSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Bjelan, Sanda (CSU) def. REYNOLDS, Melissa (UT) 6-4, 6-2
5. CARVAJAL, Silvia (UT) def. Gibbons, Charlotte (CSU) 6-4, 2-6, 10-6
6. WASHINGTON, Rahshell (UT) def. LU, Mengdi (CSU) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. BJERREHUS, Catrine/GIBBONS, Charlotte (CSU) def. WODZINSKI, Martina/GUIRGUIS, Maha (UT) 8-7
2. FREY, Ashley/ZOUBAREVA, Nadia (UT) def. JANEK, Nicole/LAZARIS, Maria (CSU) 8-4
3. REYNOLDS, Melissa/CARVAJAL, Silvia (UT) def. BJELAN, Sanda/LU, Mengdi (CSU) 8-4
Cleveland State 7, Oakland 0
Feb 28, 2010 at Rocky River, Ohio (River Oaks Racquet Club)
Singles competition
1. Bjerrehus, Catrine (CSU) def. KAROUB, Karen (OAK) 6-3, 6-0
2. Janek, Nicole (CSU) def. YOUNG, Caitlin (OAK) 6-2, 6-3
3. Bjelan, Sanda (CSU) def. DINICU, Jackie (OAK) 6-0, 6-1
4. Gibbons, Charlotte (CSU) def. GOGAS, Gabrielle (OAK) 6-2, 6-0
5. LU, Mengdi (CSU) def. PETTEY, Amanda (OAK) 6-2, 6-3
6. Drake, Molly (CSU) def. KAROUB, Kristin (OAK) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. LAZARIS, Maria/JANEK, Nicole (CSU) def. KAROUB, Karen/YOUNG, Caitlin (OAK) 8-4
2. BJELAN, Sanda/LU, Mengdi (CSU) def. KAROUB, Kristin/GOGAS, Gabrielle (OAK) 8-1
3. BJERREHUS, Catrine/DRAKE, Molly (CSU) def. DINICU, Jackie/PETTEY, Amanda (OAK) 8-5
