March 30, 2006
SETTING THE SCENE: The men's and women's tennis teams return to conference play this week, travelling to Wright State on Apr. 1 and Butler on Apr. 2.
LAST TIME OUT: The men's team fell to Toledo, 5-2 on Mar. 26, dropping to 7-10 on the season. No. 1 Olivier Dhaine and No. 6 Steven Wipprecht downed the Rockets 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 and 6-3, 7-5, respectively. On Mar. 25 Michigan State blanked the Vikings, 7-0. Brad Groleski and Wipprecht claimed the only win of the day at No. 3 doubles, downing the Spartans 8-5.
The women's team topped conference foe Detroit, 5-2 on Mar. 25, improving to 13-8 for the season. CSU earned the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles before going 4-6 in singles. Earlier in the week the women lost to Duquesne 7-0. The No. 3 doubles duo of Jenn Myers and Christine Vogelgesang downed the Dukes 8-3 for CSU's only win.
HEAD COACH Brian Etzkin: Brian Etzkin is now in his fourth year with both the men's and women's tennis programs. Etzkin, the 2003-04 Horizon League Women's Coach of the Year, has accumulated the most career wins for a coach in CSU history with 28. Last season, he coached Sarah Galon to Horizon League Player of the Year honors, the first time a Viking tennis player has won the award. On the men's side he has coached the 2003 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year (Jay Tee) and had players on both the first and second All-Horizon League teams.
ETZKIN ON THE WOMEN: "Last year we split with Wright State, beating them in the regular season and losing to them in the tournmanent, so we know it will be a competitive match. Butler is a team we have not beaten since I've been here but we definitely have our eye en on them and we're hoping this is going to be the year. Both teams have good players at the top of the order. We're feeling pretty confident coming off our last win. Jenn Myers is playing some great tennis as is the entire middle of our lineup. Getting the doubles point will be big in both matches. This weekend the women have a chance to solidify their spot in the top half of the conference."
ETZKIN ON THE MEN: "Butler won the conference last year so they're the ones everyone is chasing. We have the ability to beat them but we have to come out ready to play. Wright State beat us in a dramatic match at home last year, coming back to win 4-3. I'm sure they'll be out to get us. We always love playing the Ohio matchups and it's a good opportunity for the men to move up in the conference."
INTERNATIONAL FLAIR: As the newest addition to the Viking lineup, junior transfer Olivier Dhaine is showing signs of great promise for the future. No. 1 Dhaine, a native of France, is 10-3 for the spring after downing Mohammed Al Nahani of Toledo 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Mar. 26. On Mar. 25 Dhaine broke his two-match winning streak with a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Michigan State's Nick Rinks. He was named the Horizon League Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week for the week of Mar. 20.
SINGLED OUT: In only her second year at Cleveland State sophomore Jenn Myers is playing like a seasoned veteran. 19-8 on the season, Myers has won eight of her last nine matches. All but one were won in two sets. Most recently, she downed Aneta Maricevic of Detroit 6-4, 6-3 on Mar. 25. Myers went 4-0 over spring break in Orlando Fla. (Mar. 12-14), downing Fairleigh Dickinson, Fairfield University, Hamilton and Wagner. She was named the Horizon League Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week for the week of Mar. 20.
A FRESH APPROACH: Freshman Steven Wipprecht is adding some serious depth to the Viking lineup at No. 6 singles, posting a 14-10 record on the season. On Mar. 26 he downed Brian Rager of Toledo 6-3, 7-5 for one of two CSU points. On Mar. 25 Wipprecht and teammate Brad Groleski downed Michigan State 8-5 at No. 3 doubles for the Vikings' lone win.
DOUBLE DUTY: The No. 1 doubles pair of Sarah Galon and Morgan Ungerott have been nothing short of impressive lately, with a 17-6 record on the season. Duquesne snapped the Vikings' eight-match winning streak on Mar. 23, downing CSU 9-8 (7-2), but the pair rebounded two days later with an 8-5 victory over Detorit.
On a six-match winning (Mar. 12-25), Jenn Myers and Christine Vogelgesang are dominating No. 3 doubles spot this season. On Mar. 23 the duo earned the Vikings only win of the day with a 8-3 victory over Duquesne. Two days later the pair topped Detroit 8-4 en route to a 5-2 win. Galon and Ungerott are 13-6 on the season.
BEYOND THE HORIZON: When not on the tennis court, senior Jay Tee serves as president of one of the top Student-Athlete Advisory Councils in the Horizon League. A regular spectator and volunteer at CSU athletic events, Tee lead the group in its efforts to adopt students at Marion-Sterling Elementary School for the "Big Vikes-Little Vikes" program. During the winter SAAC coordinated a campus-wide effort to supply relief to those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
FOURGING AHEAD: Five members of the women's tennis team went 4-0 from Mar. 12-Mar. 14 while on spring break in Orlando, Fla. Kristin Chamberlain, Sarah Galon, Jenn Myers, Morgan Ungerott and Christine Vogelgesang all defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, Fairfield, Hamilton and Wagner. Four of the five Vikings recorded at least one 6-0, 6-0 shutout.
FLEET OF FIRSTS: The women's tennis team capped off its fall season at the ITA Regional (Oct. 21-24) with a number of firsts for Cleveland State. A record six Viking women competed in singles and doubles at the 2005 regional in East Lansing, Mich. Sarah Galon added to her already impressive resume by becoming the first women's tennis player in Cleveland State history to compete in the singles main draw. Galon also teamed up with Morgan Ungerott to earn the Vikings' first ever regional win in the consolation round of the doubles main draw.
BREAKING IT IN: Sophomore Brad Groleski is finally back in action and starting to find his rhythm with the Vikings after a year-long haitus due to a broken wrist. Groleski downed Esteban Blanco of Fairleigh Dickinson 6-2, 6-0 on Mar. 14. One day later he clinched a 6-2, 6-2 win over Deke Bradley of UW-LaCrosse. He is 5-8 for the spring.
UP NEXT: Both teams continue conference play at home Apr. 8-9 when the men host Robert Morris and Youngstown State, and the women host UW-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee.