Women's Tennis Enters 2012 Horizon League Championship As No. 2 Seed Athletics

Posted: Apr 25, 2012

April 25, 2012

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2012 Horizon League Championship Bracket

QUICK SETS
For the second straight season Cleveland State enters the Horizon League Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face either No. 3 Milwaukee or No. 6 Detroit in the semifinals. The semifinals will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 28 with the championship match set for 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 29. The Horizon League Championship, which begins with quarterfinal action on Friday, April 27, will take place at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Ind.

VIKINGS IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
Under head coach Brian Etzkin the Vikings own a 10-12 record in the Horizon League tournament, and have advanced to the championship match once (2011). All seven members of the 2012 squad were part of the runner-up team last season, led by Alex Bush who was the lone Viking to earn a point against the Flames.

RECORD TYING SEASON
With the two wins last weekend, Cleveland State finished the regular season with a 7-1 mark in league action, tying the school record for most league wins in a season. The Vikings also notched seven wins during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. The only loss during all three of those years has been to UIC, the defending Horizon League champion for the past 15 seasons.

POWER CLOSING IN ON SEASON WINS RECORD
Alex Power, who has a team best 25-11 record this season, is just one win shy of tying the school record for most singles wins in a season. Power's 25 wins currently ties her for second all-time, while it also marks a career-high for her. The CSU record stands at 26 wins which was set by Denisa Muntean during the 2007-08 season.

BJERREHUS REACHES 60 WINS; EARNS HL WEEKLY HONOR
Following a 2-0 performance over the final weekend of regular season play, senior Catrine Bjerrehus became just the fourth Viking to record 60 singles wins on their career. Bjerrehus, who currently has 61 wins, notched a super tie-break victory over Butler and a straight set win over Wright State. For her efforts, Bjerrehus was named the Horizon League Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week, the third Viking to earn the honor this year.

POWER PERFECT IN HL PLAY
Alex Power ended the regular season with a perfect 8-0 mark in Horizon League matches, one of just four players to be undefeated in league play this year (UIC; Jana Knoppe, Mariya Kovaleva, Elisa Simonetti). Power, who recorded a 6-0 record at No. 6 singles and a 2-0 mark at No. 5 singles, is the third Viking over the past five seasons to own a perfect record in league matches with at least four victories.

...AND LOOKS TO EXTEND WIN STREAK
Alex Power enters the championship on a nine-match win streak, which marks the longest of the season for Cleveland State and dates back to the March 15 contest against Albany. During that stretch she has defeated her opponents by a mark of 6-0 or 6-1 during 13 of the 19 sets.

VIKINGS REACH 100 SINGLES WINS
So far this season the Vikings have recorded 117 singles wins, marking the sixth time that CSU has recorded at least 100 wins under head coach Brian Etzkin. The 117 wins this season ranks fourth all-time under Etzkin, with the 131 wins that the 2007-08 team recorded leading the way.

SHERWOOD NOTCHES 20-WIN SEASON
With victories over Butler and Wright State last weekend, Kara Sherwood notched her first 20-win season, becoming the third Viking to reach the milestone this year (Alex Power, Nicole Janek) and the 12th all-time. Sherwood enters the tournament with a 20-13 record, including a 14-9 mark at No. 3 singles.

VIKINGS ON ALL-TIME WINS LIST
A trio of Vikings enter the tournament ranked in the top-six all-time on the career singles wins list, led by Catrine Bjerrehus who ranks fourth with 61 career wins. Maria Lazaris and Nicole Janek are the other two Vikings to rank in the top-six, each owning 54 wins to be tied for sixth all-time.

Brian Etzkin - HEAD COACH
At CSU: 137-128 (10th year) // Overall: 137-128 (10th year)
In his 10th season at the helm of the Cleveland State women's tennis program, Brian Etzkin has transformed the Vikings into a winning program that is continuely one of the top teams in the Horizon League. He has guided the Vikings to a 137-128 record during his tenure, including an appearance in the championship match of the Horizon League tournament last season. A two-time Horizon League Coach of the Year (2011 & 2004), Etzkin has mentored two first team all-league selections and seven second team all-league honorees. Etzkin began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Western Illinois from 1998-00 before serving for two years as an assistant coach at Michigan State. He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from SIU-Carbondale where he was also a four-year letterwinner for the tennis team.