April 24, 2010
Contact: Greg Murphy
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Coming off two of the most successful seasons in school history, the Cleveland State tennis teams raked in numerous all-league awards at the Horizon League Tennis Banquet on Friday night.
Senior Phil Orno and sophomore Yannick Goossens were both first team selections on the men's side, while senior Ryan Hamning was a second team selection. In addition, Brian Etzkin was named the Coach of the Year for the third time in the last four seasons.
On the women's side, sophomore Catrine Bjerrehus was named to the all-league first team, while senior Charlotte Gibbons and freshmen Maria Lazaris and Nicole Janek were all named to the second team.
In addition, Gibbons was honored with the Herb Foster Sportsmanship award which recognizes student-athletes who display admirable conduct both on and off the courts.
"It's a great feeling to be able to go to the banquet and know that you will have some players who are going to be honored," Etzkin said. "And to have that many players on both the men's and women's side is a testament to how hard these programs have worked to get where they are at.
"While the awards are really nice, we do have two more awards that we want to get, championships for both the men's and women's teams. And to do that, we are going to have to go out and play good, solid tennis and maintain our intensity and focus this weekend."
Orno earned his fourth straight selection to the all-league first team after posting a 27-11 record at No. 1 singles. Goossens is making his first-ever appearance on the all-league squad after going 24-10 at the No. 2 slot, including a 6-1 mark in league play.
Hamning is making his fourth straight appearance on the all-league team, earning first team honors in 2008 and 2009 and second team honors in 2007 and 2010. He went 23-11 at No. 3 singles and teamed with Orno to form one of the most potent doubles teams in league history over the last four years. Together, the duo has gone 22-8 this year.
"Phil and Ryan are two of the biggest reasons that we have had so much success over the last four seasons," Etzkin said. "They came in here and helped the program reach new heights and I am so happy for them. It was also great to see Goose get recognized on the first team after being shut out last season. He has really stepped up this season and shown that he is more than capable of assuming the No. 1 slot next season with the loss of Phil."
Etzkin was chosen as the Coach of the Year on the men's side after leading the team to a perfect 7-0 league mark and an 18-6 overall record. He has guided the Vikings to 23 consecutive wins over league opponents.
It is Etzkin's third award (2007 and 2009).
"It's nice to get this award, but it's also a testament to Coach Tee and the players who go out on the court and perform day in and day out," Etzkin said. "It really is a team award."
The women's team placed a program-best four players on the all-league team after going 7-1 in league play, finishing a school best second place in the standings. CSU is 15-11 overall.
"The women had an excellent showing this season with four players earning honors," Etzkin said. "And that is really saying something especially with the quality of players we have in the Horizon League."
Bjerrehus is making her second consecutive appearance on the all-league first team after going 16-18 at the top of CSU's lineup.
Gibbons appears on the all-league second team for the third time in her career (2007 & 2009) after posting an 18-14 mark, splitting time at No. 3 and No. 4 singles. She also teamed with Bjerrehus to form one of the strongest No. 1 doubles teams in the league, going 18-8 this season, including a school-record 11 match win streak.
"Cat has proven that she is one of the top players in the Horizon League and it is nice to see Charlotte earn a selection in her senior year," Etzkin said.
The talented freshmen duo of Lazaris and Janek joined Gibbons on the second team.
Lazaris, who has played No. 2 singles, leads the team with a 21-13 mark, while Janek has gone 18-15, splitting time at No. 3 and No. 4 singles. The duo also became doubles partners midway through the season and went 9-7 at the No. 2 slot.
"To get both of our freshmen on the all-league team is a great feeling," Etzkin said. "They are the future of the program and I expect them to continue to grow as players and lead us to even higher heights in the future."
Gibbons' selection as the Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award continued a strong CSU tradition with that award as the Vikings have had at least one men's or women's player win the award in each of the last four seasons.
"I am so happy for Charlotte because she takes a lot of pride in playing with a high level of sportsmanship and I think the other players and coaches in the league realize that," Etzkin said. "She always plays fair and takes time before each match to talk with her opponent."
Both teams are in Indianapolis for the Horizon League Championship this weekend. The No. 1 seeded men's team plays a semifinal match against No. 4 Butler at 10:30 a.m., while the second seeded women's squad plays third-seeded Detroit at 2:30 p.m.
