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Vikings Travel To Ohio State For NCAA Championships First Round Match

Vikings Travel To Ohio State For NCAA Championships First Round Match

April 30, 2008

Contact: Jessica Gerich

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NCAA MEN'S TENNIS DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIPS FIRST ROUND
Cleveland State (18-5) at No. 2 Ohio State (32-1)
Date: Saturday, May 10
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Columbus, Ohio at Stickney Tennis Center
Series: Ohio State leads 3-0

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State will make its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship when the Vikings travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on second ranked Ohio State in a first round match on Saturday, May 10. The match will take place at Stickney Tennis Center, which is on Ohio State's campus, at 11:00 a.m. The Vikings earned an automatic bid to the tournament by winning two matches in the Horizon League Championship over the weekend to claim its first-ever Horizon League Championship, while Ohio State will make its ninth appearance after earning the automatic berth from the Big Ten. The Buckeyes, ranked second in the nation, reached the quarterfinals of the tournament last season, falling to Illinois.

PREVIEWING THE VIKING MEN: The No. 1 seeded Vikings defeated Green Bay by a 4-0 score in the semifinals before winning 4-1 over UIC in the finals to claim the Horizon League Championship. The men's squad is led by sophomores Phil Orno and Ryan Hamning. Orno, the Horizon League Player of the Year, has a 25-9 record at No. 1 singles and is riding a 19-match win streak into the tournament, while Hamning, an all-league first team selection has a 17-13 record at No. 2 singles. Senior Brad Groleski is 14-10 at No. 3 singles while freshman Chris Klepatz has gone 17-12 at No. 4 singles. All-League second team honoree, freshman Robert Fox is 24-7 at No. 5 singles and has won 15 consecutive singles matches. Junior Rob West is 14-17 at No. 6 singles to complete the Viking lineup.

RECAPPING THE VIKING WOMEN: The Vikings concluded their season at the Horizon League Championship over the weekend. CSU opened the tournament as the No. 4 seed on Friday, April 25, defeating Valparaiso 4-0. The following day the Vikings defeated Green Bay 4-0 before falling to eventual champion UIC 4-2. CSU then dropped its match against Detroit, 4-3 to finish in fourth place. All-League second team selections, freshmen Melissa Holzinger and Jackie Tabb finished the season 15-18 and 11-19 at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively. Senior Jenn Myers concluded her career as a Viking with an 18-16 record at No. 3 singles, while freshman Sanda Bjelan went 25-11 at No. 4 singles. Sophomores Charlotte Gibbons and Denisa Muntean wrapped up the Viking lineup, finishing 21-5 and 26-9 at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively. Gibbons has won 11 consecutive singles matches for the Vikings, going undefeated against Horizon League opponents.

THE HEAD COACH
Brian Etzkin (Southern Illinois, `98)
Men's Record: 81-68
Women's Record: 77-85
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, which is impressive considering Etzkin inherited teams that won two games each the season before his hiring. Thirteen Vikings have garnered All-Horizon League recognition under Etzkin's tutelage and two players have earned Horizon League Player of the Year honors. Etzkin guided both the men's and women's teams to new heights this season, with the men winning their first Horizon League Championship and the women tying the 2005-06 team with the most wins (18).

ETZKIN ON THE MEN: "We are excited to play the No. 2 team in the nation in Ohio State and will be coming in as the underdog but we will prepare for this match like every other this season. I think we will surprise everyone. It will be exciting for us to see how we match up against some of the best in the country. We will have a lot of fan support to help us as well."

ETZKIN ON THE WOMEN: "Overall we had a great season. We came real close to knocking off some really good teams and we also defeated some really good teams. We return five from this season and will work hard to prepare for next season."

VIKINGS VS. THE FIELD: The Vikings have faced three teams in the field this season, going 1-2. CSU dropped a 7-0 decision to Indiana (Jan. 21), before defeating Xavier 4-3 (Jan. 26). The Vikings fell 4-3 to No. 53 Stetson during CSU's Spring Training Trip in Orlando, Fla. (Mar. 11).

ORNO NAMED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sophomore Phil Orno capped a stellar season by earning Horizon League Player of the Year honors in addition to a spot on the All-Horizon League first team for the second straight season. Orno compiled a 19-2 overall record at No. 1 singles, including an 8-0 record against Horizon League opponents and enters the NCAA postseason with a 19-match winning streak. Orno also went 14-4 at No. 1 doubles with classmate Ryan Hamning. In addition, Orno was named Horizon League Athlete of the Week three times and is the first male to receive the Player of the Year honor.

SWEEPS: The women's team have won eight matches by a 7-0 score, including three of eight against Horizon League opponents. In the Vikings Feb. 9 match against St. Francis (PA), the squad lost only one game in the entire match. The men's team follows with four sweeps, with one coming against Horizon League opponent Youngstown State.

HAMNING IT UP: Sophomore Ryan Hamning was named to the Horizon League first team after going 17-13 at No. 2 singles and 19-7 at No. 1 singles with classmate Phil Orno. Hamning also received Athlete of the Week honors on February 1.

OUTFOXED: Freshman Robert Fox was named to the All-League second team after compiling a 24-7 record, predominately at No. 5 singles, including an undefeated record in Horizon League action. Fox will enter the NCAA Championships with a 15-match win streak.

HOLZINGER RECEIVES LEAGUE HONORS: Freshman Melissa Horlzinger was named to the All-League second team after compiling a 15-18 record at No. 1 singles and a 16-13 doubles record, including 10-5 with classmate Jackie Tabb.

TABB TABBED FOR LEAGUE HONORS: Freshman Jackie Tabb earned a spot on the All-League second team after posting an 11-19 record at No. 2 singles and a 17-5 doubles record, including an 8-0 record at No. 3 doubles with fellow honoree Melissa Holzinger.

FRESHMEN IMPORTS: Freshmen Sanda Bjelan and Robert Fox have compiled the best record among CSU newcomers. Bjelan, a Bad Ragaz, Switzerland product has a 25-11 record while Fox, a Rotterdam, Netherlands native, has a 24-7 mark. Bjelan leads the team in singles victories, while Fox is tied with Phil Orno. Bjelan owns a 15-15 doubles record while Fox has tallied a 17-10 doubles record, predominately at No. 2 doubles.

GOOD SPORT: Senior Morgan Ungerott received the Horizon League Herb Foster Sportsmanship award for her achievements and sportsmanship both on and off the court. In its three years of existence, CSU has won the award four times (Sarah Galon, 2006 & 2007 and Brad Groleski, 2006). The award, given to a player who exemplifies good sportsmanship on and off the court, is named in honor of the late Wright State coach who led the Raiders from 1996-2004.

THEY HAVE BEEN ROBBED: Junior Rob West and freshman Rob Fox form the men's No. 2 doubles team, going 17-9 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).

STREAKY: Sophomore Phil Orno currently holds the longest win streak for the Vikings, with 19 consecutive singles match victories. Freshman Robert Fox follows with 15 straight, with the streak dating to Feb. 9. Sophomore Charlotte Gibbons led the women's team with an 11 match win streak, beginning on March 11 against Radford. Freshman Sanda Bjelan followed with a seven match win streak from January 27 to February 24. Bjelan's streak was 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 83 doubles wins for her career.

UP NEXT: If the Vikings defeat Ohio State on Saturday, CSU would advance to the second round and take on the winner of the East Tennessee State and Notre Dame match. The second round contest is slated for Sunday, May 11 at Ohio State's Stickney Tennis Center.