March 19, 2008
Contact: Jessica Gerich
Complete Release in PDF Format 
CLEVELAND STATE WOMEN'S TENNIS
vs. Detroit
Date: Friday, March 21
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Franklin Racquet Club)
FIRST SERVE: The Cleveland State women's tennis team begins Horizon League play when the Vikings travel to Detroit on Friday, March 21 at 11:30 a.m.
PREVIEWING THE VIKING MEN: The Viking men (10-4) went 2-1 in their spring training trip in Orlando, Florida last week. The Vikings defeated Southern Illinois Edwardsville, 6-1, on Sunday and UCONN, 6-1, on Monday. CSU fell to No. 53 Stetson, 4-3 to finish the trip on Tuesday. The squad is led by sophomores Phil Orno and Ryan Hamning. A first team All-Horizon League selection last season, Orno has a 16-9 record, predominately at No. 1 singles, while Hamning, an all-league second team selection has a 11-11 record at No. 2 singles. Freshman Chris Klepatz is 12-9 at No. 3 singles while junior Rob West has gone 8-16 at No. 4 singles. Freshman Robert Fox and senior Brad Groleski are 13-7 and 9-7, respectively, to wrap up the bottom of the Viking lineup. Orno has won 11 consecutive singles matches, while Fox has won seven straight.
PREVIEWING THE VIKING WOMEN: The women went 2-1 last week in Orlando, defeating Southern Illinois Edwardsville 6-1 on Sunday. The Vikings fell to UCONN, 5-2, on Monday before winning 4-3 over Radford on Tuesday. The 2-1 trip in Florida improved the women to 11-4 for the season before league play begins. Freshmen Melissa Holzinger (12-13) and Jackie Tabb (6-15) form the top of the Viking lineup. Senior Jenn Myers is 13-10 at No. 3 singles, while freshman Sanda Bjelan is 17-8 at No. 4 singles. Sophomores Denisa Muntean and Charlotte Gibbons hold down the bottom part of the lineup, with 14-8 and 9-4 records at No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively.
THE HEAD COACH
Brian Etzkin (Southern Illinois, `98)
Men's Record: 73-67
Women's Record: 70-80
Brian Etzkin, CSU's all-time coaching wins leader, has led both the men's and women's teams to five straight seasons with 10 wins or more. Nine Vikings have garnered All-Horizon League recognition under Etzkin's tutelage and two players have earned Horizon League Newcomer of the Year honors. Etzkin guided both the men's and women's teams to new heights last season, with the women having their best tournament finish in program history, (third) while the men tied their best tournament finish in school history (third).
ETZKIN ON THE MEN: "We had a successful spring trip in Florida, going 2-1 in Orlando. Our most exciting match was our loss to No. 53 Stetson. It was our first match of nearly beating a ranked team. I feel that we definitely raised our game to another level and we are building serious momentum for league play."
ETZKIN ON THE WOMEN: "This week's match against Detroit will be a very important match. They beat us last season in the regular season and we defeated them in the conference tournament. They have had some injuries but will come out with a full lineup against us. Our goal this year is to finish third or better in the league and we have to win this match for that to happen. We are very deep in our 4, 5, and 6 spots and the top of the lineup will have some exciting matches. The doubles point will be very important against Detroit."
BACK FROM WHERE THEY LEFT OFF: Sophomores Phil Orno and Ryan Hamning, all-league selections following their freshman campaigns, have picked up where they left off last season. Orno boasts a 16-9 record, predominately at No. 1 singles, while Hamning is 11-11, mainly at No. 2 singles. Hamning and Orno were the only two players representing CSU at the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championships, which were held in Tulsa, Okla., in the fall. Both were selected to play singles and doubles at the ITA Regional Tournament.
THEY HAVE BEEN ROBBED: Junior Rob West and Rob Fox form the men's No. 2 doubles team, going 10-7 this season, including 5-0 at No. 1 doubles. The duo defeated Michigan State's No. 2 team 8-5, which was CSU's only victory against the Big Ten team.
TABB TABBED FOR LEAGUE HONORS: Freshman Jackie Tabb received Horizon League Tennis Athlete of the Week honors on Jan. 23, after defeating IPFW's Stacy Lish, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles and going 2-0 at No. 1 doubles with sophomore Charlotte Gibbons. The duo earned wins over IPFW and Michigan State during the spring season opening weekend.
FRESHMEN IMPORTS: Freshmen Sanda Bjelan and Robert Fox have compiled the best record among CSU newcomers. Bjelan, a Bad Ragaz, Switzerland product has a 15-7 record while Fox, a Rotterdam, Netherlands native, has a 13-7 mark. Bjelan owns an 10-7 doubles record while Fox has tallied a 8-8 doubles record, predominately at No. 2 doubles.
HAMNING IT UP: Sophomore Ryan Hamning was named the Horizon League Tennis Athlete of the Week on Jan. 31, after defeating Chris Herrlinger of Xavier, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. Hamning, who is now 10-9 on the season at No. 1 singles, teamed with classmate Phil Orno to win their No. 1 doubles match against Xavier.
HOLZINGER AND ORNO RECEIVE LEAGUE HONORS: Freshman Melissa Holzinger and sophomore Phil Orno swept the Horizon League Tennis Athlete of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 4. Holzinger and Orno won both of their No. 1 singles matches against St. Bonaventure and Niagara. It marked the third consecutive week that at least one member of the CSU tennis team garnered player of the week honors.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Senior Morgan Ungerott became CSU's winningest doubles player on Sunday, Feb. 24, with her 77th career win. It broke former doubles partner Sarah Galon's record of 76 doubles wins. Ungerott paired with freshman Melissa Holzinger to defeat Kali Delorie and Libby Shaw of Robert Morris, 8-0, on Sunday.
THE CLINCHER: Freshman Robert Fox has clinched two matches for the Vikings. Fox first clinched the match against St. Bonaventure on Saturday, Feb. 2, winning 7-6 (10), 6-3 at No. 5 singles. He closed out the match against Niagara on Sunday, Feb. 3, winning 6-2, 6-0 at No. 6 singles to wrap up the victory.
UP NEXT: The men's team faces Dayton on Saturday, March 29 in Dayton, Ohio. The women host Youngstown State on Sunday, March 30 at 12:00 p.m.
