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Tennis Begins Last Homestand On Friday

Tennis Begins Last Homestand On Friday
Posted: Apr 08, 2008

April 8, 2008

Contact: Jessica Gerich

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CLEVELAND STATE WOMEN'S TENNIS
vs. Green Bay
Date: Friday, April 11
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: River Oaks Racquet Club (Rocky River, Ohio)

vs. Milwaukee
Date: Saturday, April 12
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: River Oaks Racquet Club (Rocky River, Ohio)

CLEVELAND STATE MEN'S TENNIS
vs. Green Bay
Date: Saturday, April 12
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Location: River Oaks Racquet Club (Rocky River, Ohio)

CLEVELAND STATE WOMEN'S TENNIS
vs. Youngstown State
Date: Sunday, April 13
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: River Oaks Racquet Club (Rocky River, Ohio)

FIRST SERVE: The Cleveland State women's tennis team (13-6, 2-2 HL) continues its Horizon League schedule on Friday, April 11 when the Vikings host Green Bay. The match is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. The women host Milwaukee on Saturday, April 12 at 4:00 p.m., while the Cleveland State men's team (12-5, 1-1) hosts Green Bay earlier at 12:00 p.m. The men face Youngstown State on Sunday, April 13 at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. All matches will take place at River Oaks Racquet Club in Rocky River, Ohio.

PREVIEWING THE VIKING MEN: CSU went 1-1 over the weekend beginning its Horizon League schedule. Cleveland State defeated Wright State on Saturday, winning 5-2, but fell to Butler, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon. The Vikings are currently in fifth place in the Horizon League standings. 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 20-9 record, predominately at No. 1 singles, while Hamning, an all-league second team selection has a 13-13 record at No. 2 singles. Senior Brad Groleski is 12-7 at No. 3 singles while freshman Chris Klepatz has gone 12-12 at No. 4 singles. Junior Rob West and freshman Robert Fox are 10-17 and 19-7, respectively, to wrap up the bottom of the Viking lineup. Orno has won 13 consecutive singles matches, while Fox has won 10 straight.

PREVIEWING THE VIKING WOMEN: The Vikings swept Wright State on Saturday and dropped a 4-3 decision at Butler over the weekend. CSU is currently in fifth place in the Horizon League. Freshmen Melissa Holzinger (13-17) and Jackie Tabb (8-17) form the top of the Viking lineup. Senior Jenn Myers is 13-13 at No. 3 singles, while freshman Sanda Bjelan is 20-9 at No. 4 singles. Second team All-Horizon League selection Charlotte Gibbons and Denisa Muntean hold down the bottom part of the lineup, with 15-5 and 18-10 records at No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively. Gibbons has won five consecutive singles matches for the Vikings.

THE HEAD COACH
Brian Etzkin (Southern Illinois, `98)
Men's Record: 75-68
Women's Record: 72-82
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: "Our goal this year is to win a championship and although we slipped against Butler over the weekend, we still have an opportunity to win. Green Bay is not a team to be overlooked and Youngstown State always plays hard against us. We want to send our senior Brad Groleski out with wins in his last home matches as a Viking."

ETZKIN ON THE WOMEN: "This will be a big weekend for us in the conference. With the possibility of a tie-break, we have to take every point that we can. Milwaukee is a team in the top half of the conference and should give us a tough match. We are expecting a big crowd this weekend for our last home matches of the season. We are looking to honor our four seniors. They really helped push this program to a new level and we want to give them wins in their last home matches."

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 20-9 record, predominately at No. 1 singles, while Hamning is 13-13, 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 12-8 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 (Jan. 19).

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 20-9 record while Fox, a Rotterdam, Netherlands native, has a 19-7 mark. Bjelan leads the team in in singles victories, while Fox is second to Phil Orno (20). Bjelan owns an 11-9 doubles record while Fox has tallied a 12-10 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.

STREAKYSophomore Phil Orno currently holds the longest win streak for the Vikings, with 13 consecutive singles match victories. Freshman Robert Fox follows with 10 straight, with the streak dating to Feb. 9. Freshman Sanda Bjelan leads the women's team with a seven match win 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 (Feb. 27).

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. Ungerott currently has 79 doubles wins for her career.

UP NEXT: The men's and women's team travel to Valparaiso Ind. for a match against first-year Horizon League member Valparaiso on Saturday, April 19. Both matches are slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. Both teams face UIC on Sunday, April 20 to complete the regular season. The men's match is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m., while the women will play at 1:00 p.m.