March 15, 2012
Contact: Renee Adam
BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Cleveland State women's tennis team ended their Spring Training Trip on a high note Thursday afternoon, as the Vikings claimed a 5-2 victory over Albany. The win improves CSU to 8-7 on the year, while the Great Danes fall to 7-6.
"We did what we needed to do today in order to get the win, it wasn't always pretty but we were able to come out on top," assistant coach Jay Tee said. "The bottom part of our singles lineup carried us today and our doubles play once again improved. Throughout all of our matches this week we have been able to work on things that we needed to improve before we start league play, and because of that I am really looking forward to what the team can accomplish in the league this season."
Cleveland State was able to continue its strong doubles play Thursday, as they picked up two of the three matches for the first point of the contest. At No. 2 doubles, Nicole Janek and Maria Lazaris improved their record to 4-1 over the past five matches as the duo claimed an 8-7 (7-3) win against Albany. Mengdi Liu and Kara Sherwood followed that up with an 8-2 win at the No. 3 spot, topping Sarah Iannone and Aubrey Brooks.
For the fifth straight match Liu was victorious at No. 6 singles, as she claimed a 6-3, 6-3 win over Albany's Aubrey Brooks. Along with Liu's victory the Vikings also got wins at No. 3, 4 and 5 singles, including a pair of 6-1, 6-1 wins from Janek and Power.
Janek's win at the No. 4 spot was her team-leading 12th victory of the spring season and her 17th overall this year. Power also notched her 17th win of the year at the No. 5 spot, as both Vikings are on track to record their first 20-win seasons at Cleveland State.
CSU's final singles victory came from Sherwood at the No. 3 spot, as she posted a 6-3, 6-4 win over Kirsten Scott.
"The team is very excited to start competing against league opponents and see how much they have improved throughout the beginning of the spring season," Tee said. "Last year we were one of the top teams in the league and hopefully we will be able to be in the top once again this season."
The Vikings will now turn their attention to Horizon League opponents, as they open league action with a 7:00 p.m. contest at Detroit on Friday, March 23.
Cleveland State 5, Albany 2
Doubles:
1. Lopez/Gherman (ALB) def. Bjerrehus/Power (CSU), 8-6
2. Janek/Lazaris (CSU) def. Scott/Kukkonen (ALB), 8-7 (7-3)
3. Liu/Sherwood (CSU) def. Iannone/Brooks (ALB), 8-2
Singles:
1. LOPEZ ALBERCA, Rocio (ALB) def. Bjerrehus, Catrine (CSU) 4-6, 6-1, 10-8
2. GHERMAN, Livia (ALB) def. Lazaris, Maria (CSU) 7-5, 6-0
3. Sherwood, Kara (CSU) def. SCOTT, Kirsten (ALB) 6-3, 6-4
4. Janek, Nicole (CSU) def. KUKKONEN, Cheryl (ALB) 6-1, 6-1
5. Power, Alex (CSU) def. IANNONE, Sarah (ALB) 6-1, 6-1
6. Liu, Mengdi (CSU) def. BROOKS, Aubrey (ALB) 6-3, 6-3
