Feb. 23, 2005
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Setting the Scene: The Cleveland State women's tennis team begins the Horizon League slate in Wisconsin this weekend as the Vikings play at UW-Green Bay on Friday (Feb. 25) at 5:00 p.m. at and UW-Milwaukee on Saturday (Feb. 26) for a 5:00 p.m. competition. The men's team will be idle until co-hosting Chicago State with the women's team on March 5 at River Oaks Racquet Club.
Previewing the Vikings: The Cleveland State women's team touts a 6-6 overall record after going 3-2 in the fall portion of the season. Most recently, CSU dropped a pair of contests to tough opponents, falling by a 6-1 score at Toledo on Saturday (Feb. 19) and dropping a 7-0 match at Michigan State on Sunday (Feb. 20). The Vikings had reeled off three-straight wins since dropping their first two to open the spring season, claiming 7-0 wins over St. Bonaventure and Robert Morris (1/30) before taking a 5-2 win over Oakland (2/11). Sophomore Sarah Galon and freshman Jenn Myers lead the team with eight wins a piece.
Previewing the Phoenix: UW-Green Bay holds a 3-4 overall record and an 0-2 mark in the Horizon League heading into Friday's contest. The Phoenix picked up a 5-2 win over Oakland on Saturday (Feb. 19) after dropping four straight, including a 4-3 loss to Detroit and a 4-0 defeat to Wright State. Sophomore Heather Harding went 4-0 against the Titans and Grizzlies with a pair of wins at No. 1 doubles with Jennifer Tan and two straight set wins at No. 1 singles.
Previewing the Panthers: UW-Milwaukee will enter a Friday evening match with UIC holding an 0-6 overall mark and a 0-1 record in the Horizon League. The Panthers opened up their dual meet slate in January against Wright State, falling to the Raiders, 7-0. Senior Erin Felber has won two of her last three matches for UWM, claiming the team's only singles victories against Chicago State and Bradley.
Michigan State Hands Vikings a Tough Loss: The women's team battled hard against a tough Michigan State team on Feb. 19, but couldn't come away with a win as the Spartans handed the Vikings a 7-0 loss in East Lansing, Mich. The No. 2 doubles team of Jenn Myers and Christine Vogelgesang put up a strong showing, battling MSU's Shelley Brady and Sarah Andrews to a 6-6 tie before the Spartan tandem pulled away for the win. Sophomore No. 1 Sarah Galon and freshman No. 4 Lindsay Sellers played closely in their matches, but could not produce a victory.
Vikings Drop Two to Toledo: The men's and women's teams dropped a pair of tough matches to Toledo on Feb. 19, with the men's squad falling by a 5-2 count and the women's team coming up on the short end of a 6-1 match. Despite the outcome, both teams performed well in the matches against the tough Rockets teams. Senior Eric Winn picked up a singles win for the men's team at No. 1, topping Josh Moran in three sets. Winn tallied his first win at the No. 1 position since registering a 6-0, 6-1 win against St. Francis at the start of the season. Freshman Jenn Myers scored the only women's singles win at No. 3, tallying a 6-2, 6-2 win over Daniella Moran. Last year, the men's squad dropped a 6-1 decision to the Rockets, while the women's team fell by a 7-0 count. "We came in to these matches with the idea that we could come away with a couple of wins," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We knew that Toledo was a tough opponent, but we could have easily come out on top. We played much better this time around compared to last season."
Back to the Front: An injury to No. 1 singles player Brad Groleski sent senior Eric Winn back to the front line for the men's squad against Toledo last weekend, and Winn responded to the challenge with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Josh Moran. He had spent the majority of his career with the Vikings at the No. 1 spot, but the addition of Groleski this season moved him down a spot throughout most of the year. Winn holds a 2-0 mark at No. 1 this season and has a 23-31 mark during his career.
Aloha from Cleveland: You would think that a native of Hawaii would find the weather in Cleveland a little less than inviting. But sophomore No. 1 Sarah Galon has thrived on the shores of Lake Erie, as the Waianae, Ha. native is tied for the team lead with eight wins. Last season, Galon had one of the best first years of any Cleveland State player, being named the Horizon League's Newcomer of Year and to the all-league first team after leading the Vikings with an 18-9 record as the No. 1.
Don't Mess with Texas: Cleveland State seniors Paul Haley and Eric Winn know about playing big. The Lone Star State natives have been staples in the Cleveland State lineup for the past three and a half seasons, combining for 71 wins to date, with both players seeing regular time at No. 1 singles during their careers. The tandem has also teamed up at No. 1 doubles for three of the past four seasons, tallying 15 wins during that span.
Road Trip Anyone?: The Cleveland State tennis teams will be spending a lot of time away from Cleveland for the next two months as the Vikings will see playing time at Malaga Tennis Center only once in February and March. CSU will play a total of 19 matches on the road this spring, with all of them being played from Feb. 19 to April 2, while playing only Chicago State at home on March 5 during that span. The Vikings will somewhat make up for the travels at the end of the season, however, playing their last seven contests before the Horizon League Championships at Malaga.
The Coaches: Brian Etzkin is in his third season at the helm of the Viking tennis teams, holding a combined record of 44-93 (26-46 men, 18-47 women). He has been given the task reviving the men's tennis program, which returned in 2000 after an eight-year hiatus. Prior to his arrival at Cleveland State, Etzkin spent two years as an assistant at Western Illinois before being named an assistant coach at Michigan State. He is assisted by David Howell, a native of Solon, who joined the program after spending a season as interim head coach at Allegheny College. A standout player for Allegheny from '96-00, Howell served as assistant coach at St. Lawrence University from 2001-02. Also assisting as a volunteer is Teresa Boylan, who returns to Cleveland State after serving as head coach from 1997-2001.
Next Up: The Viking men's and women's teams return to northeast Ohio for a brief homestand with Chicago State on Saturday, March 5 at 6:00 p.m. The match will be held at River Oaks Racquet Club in Rocky River, Ohio. The women's team then hits the road on Sunday (Feb. 6) for a 9:00 a.m. match at Youngstown State.
