March 17, 2009
Contact: Dana Ingraham
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Cleveland State women's tennis team has now won four in a row, defeating the University of North Dakota and Long Island University in the first two matches of its spring training trip.
The Vikings opened competition in Florida with a 6-1 win over North Dakota on Sunday, followed by a 5-2 decision over Long Island on Monday. The victories bring CSU's overall record to 9-6 this spring.
As a team, Cleveland State won five out of the six doubles matches against both opponents combined. The duo of Myra Pepino and Sanda Bjelan, who have recently moved up to second doubles, picked up two wins to bring their record at that position to 5-0.
Additionally, the Vikings dropped just three singles matches over the two-day span. Melissa Holzinger, Jackie Tabb, Myra Pepino, and Sanda Bjelan all posted two wins at their respective spots in the lineup. Tabb is now 6-4 at No. 4, after winning her last five matches dating back to March 6 against IPFW.
Horizon League Player of the Week Catrine Bjerrehus improved to 6-4 at her new post at No. 1, with a 6-2, 6-1 win over North Dakota's Emily Callison.
"The level of competition is increasing with every match we play," said CSU head coach Brian Etzkin. "We are consistently playing good, disciplined tennis, and now the question will be if we can continue to raise our game to the next level."
"As a team we decided that we were going to show up and let our rackets do the talking, and we did that well for the most part," added assistant coach Jay Tee.
The Viking women will close out their spring trip with a doubleheader in Orlando on Thursday, March 19, against Coastal Carolina and Fairleigh Dickinson.
Cleveland State 6, North Dakota 1
March 15, 2009, Spring Training Trip
Doubles
1. Bjerrehus/Gibbons (CSU) def. E. Callison/Wessman (UND) 8-0
2. Pepino/Bjelan (CSU) def. K. Callison/Maurer (UND) 8-1
3. Tabb/Holzinger (CSU) def. Wischer/Reisenauer (UND) 8-1
Singles
1. Catherine Bjerrehus (CSU) def. Emily Callison (UND) 6-2, 6-1
2. Katie Callison (UND) def. Charlotte Gibbons (CSU) 6-2, 7-5
3. Melissa Holzinger (CSU) def. Brynne Wischer (UND) 6-0, 6-0
4. Jackie Tabb (CSU) def. Molly Maurer (UND) 6-3, 6-2
5. Myra Pepino (CSU) def. Katie Wessman (UND) 6-2, 6-1
6. Sanda Bjelan (CSU) def. Tiffany Reisenauer (UND) 6-1, 6-0
Cleveland State 5, Long Island 2
March 16, 2009, Spring Training Trip
Doubles
1. Babic/Johnson (LIU) def. Bjerrehus/Gibbons (CSU), 8-3
2. Pepino/Bjelan (CSU) def. Harvey/Elie (LIU), 8-3
3. Holzinger/Tabb (CSU) def. Lahens/Hosotsuji (LIU), 8-0
Singles
1. Selma Babic (LIU) def. Catrine Bjerrehus (CSU), 6-1, 7-5
2. Ashley Harvey (LIU) def. Charlotte Gibbons (CSU), 7-5, 3-6, 10-8
3. Melissa Holzinger (CSU) def. Stephanie Elie (LIU), 6-1, 6-0
4. Jackie Tabb (CSU) def. H'Ann Johnson (LIU), 6-3, 6-1
5. Myra Pepino (CSU) def. Dara Lahens (LIU), 6-3, 6-3
6. Sanda Bjelan (CSU) def. Amy Hosotsuji (LIU), 6-2, 6-3