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Vikings Travel To Dayton

Vikings Travel To Dayton
Posted: Mar 26, 2008

March 26, 2008

Contact: Jessica Gerich

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CLEVELAND STATE MEN'S TENNIS
at Dayton
Location: Dayton, Ohio (Old River Park)
Date: Saturday, March 29
Time: 2:00 p.m.

CLEVELAND STATE WOMEN'S TENNIS
vs. Youngstown State
Location: Rocky River, Ohio (River Oaks Racquet Club)
Date: Sunday, March 30
Time: 12:00 p.m.

FIRST SERVE: The Cleveland State men's team completes its non-conference portion of their schedule when the Vikings travel to Dayton on Saturday, March 29 for a 2:00 p.m. match. The women's team continues its Horizon League schedule on Sunday, March 30, when CSU hosts Youngstown State. The match is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. The men's match will take place at Old River Park, which is off campus, while the women's match will take place at River Oaks Racquet Club.

PREVIEWING THE VIKING MEN: The Viking men (10-4) were idle last week after completing their spring training trip in Orlando, Florida two weeks ago. The men's 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 an 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: CSU dropped its Horizon League opener at Detroit, falling 4-3 on Friday, March 21. After the Vikings won the doubles point and the first two singles matches, Detroit rallied to take four singles matches to defeat the Vikings. Freshmen Melissa Holzinger (12-14) and Jackie Tabb (6-16) form the top of the Viking lineup. Senior Jenn Myers is 13-11 at No. 3 singles, while freshman Sanda Bjelan is 17-9 at No. 4 singles. Sophomores Denisa Muntean and Charlotte Gibbons hold down the bottom part of the lineup, with 17-9 and 12-5 records at No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively.

THE HEAD COACH
Brian Etzkin (Southern Illinois, `98)
Men's Record: 73-67
Women's Record: 70-81
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 will be facing Dayton, a team with a lot of talent and energy. We have a good opportunity to win if we play our best tennis. We treat matches against Ohio opponents like conference matches, so we are looking to win. Phil has won 11 straight and he should definitely lead us in this match. We have a full and healthy lineup back and we are excited about that."

ETZKIN ON THE WOMEN: "Last week we had a disappointing loss to Detroit and we are looking to avenge that loss and get back on the right track when we host Youngstown State. If there is a tiebreak in the conference, then every point counts, so we are looking to take every point that we can. We defeated Youngstown State 4-3 last season, and we are hoping to build a streak against the Penguins."

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 17-9 record while Fox, a Rotterdam, Netherlands native, has a 16-7 mark. Bjelan owns an 10-8 doubles record while Fox has tallied a 10-9 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.

STREAKY: Sophomore Phil Orno currently holds the longest win streak for the Vikings, with 11 consecutive singles match victories, beginning on January 26 against Xavier. Freshman Robert Fox follows with seven straight, starting on February 9 against St. Francis (PA). Freshman Sanda Bjelan leads the women's team with a seven match streak, from January 27 to February 24. Freshman Melissa Holzinger and sophomore Denisa Muntean each had six consecutive singles victories from February 2 to February 24. All three had their streaks snapped at No. 45 Ohio State.

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 and women's team travel to Fairborn, Ohio for matches against Wright State. The men's match is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. while the women's match will start at 2:00 p.m.