Sept. 26, 2005
Contact: Brian Wolff
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SETTING THE SCENE: Both teams have off this week in preperation for their dual meets on Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct. 9. The men head to Youngstown State on Oct. 8 for a dual meet with the Penguins at 1:00 p.m. Both teams will host IPFW and St. Francis on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., respectively. The Viking men are coming off a 6-1 loss to Duquesne, while the women come back from the Cisse Leary Invitational in Philadelphia with only one individual win to show from it.
REVIEWING THE WOMEN'S WEEK: Sarah Galon and Abby Showalter joined some the of top players in the nation at the Cisse Leary Invitational this past week in Philadelphia, Pa., finishing the weekend 1-8 individually. Freshman Abby Showalter picked up her first collegiate win in the second day of action, a 6-1, 6-3 victory of Michelle Mitchell. Sarah Galon went 0-3 on a weekend that saw her play the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Galon and Showalter teamed up for doubles play where they also went winless.
REVIEWING THE MEN'S WEEK: The men's team hosted their first dual meet of the season, a 6-1 loss to Duquesne last Friday. CSU notched its only singles victory in a three-set match from Dan Singer. Singer, who was recovering from a knee injury, won, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-4. In doubles play, the Vikings won, 8-1, with the No. 1 doubles duo of Jay Tee and Rob West.
HEAD COACH Brian Etzkin: In his fourth year with the Vikings, Brian Etzkin has the duty as head coach of both the men's and women's tennis programs. Etzkin, the 2003-04 Horizon League Coach of the Year, has shown much progress, especially on the women's side. Since taking over the program in 2002-03, Etzkin has guided the women to a 12-win improvement from his first season. 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 and players on both the first and second All-Horizon League teams.
ETZKIN ON THE WOMEN'S TEAM: "Even though it may not have equated into wins and losses, I thought the weekend in Philadelphia was worth it. Sarah [Galon] and Abby [Showalter] got experience that will benefit them through the year. We are looking forward to practice and getting the whole squad together for our dual matches on Oct. 9."
ETZKIN ON THE MEN'S TEAM: "I would have liked to get a few more wins against Duquesne, but our guys played tough. Several players were higher in the lineup since we have some injuries, but I thought we did okay. Dan [Singer] was hurting, but he played with a lot of heart. That is a performance we need to get out of all our players."
NEWCOMERS MAKING AN IMPACT: All four of the Viking newcomers made the most of their first collegiate tournaments. On the men's side Rob West won his flight at the St. Bonaventure Invite (Sept. 9-10) with a perfect 3-0 record. Steven Wipprecht went 2-1 in singles play during that weekend and West and Wipprecht teamed to go 1-2 in doubles action. On the women's side, Kristin Chamberlain went a perfect 2-0 during the first day of the Zips Invite (Sept. 16-17), before falling in the quarterfinals of her flight. Abby Showalter notched her first collegiate win at the Cisse Leary Invitational (Sept. 23-24) in a 6-1, 6-3 straight-set victory.
SINGER TOUGHES IT OUT: Junior Dan Singer won a three-set victory in his No. 3 singles match against Adam Townsend of Duquesne. Recovering from a knee injury, Singer won 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-4, to earn the only Vikings' point on the afternoon. Singer, one of four returning players, leads all returnees with 10 wins a year ago.
HAWAIIAN PUNCH: Junior Sarah Galon was the first Vikings' tennis player to win Horizon League Player of the Year honors, doing so last year. Galon earned the distinction after being named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year two seasons ago. Galon began her 2005-06 season going 0-3 at the Cisse Leary Invitational, playing some of the top talent in the nation. On the second day of competition, she lost a tough three-set match, 6-3, 5-7, 10-4. The third set was played in a tiebreaker format. She recorded a 6-1 mark in both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles in Horizon League play last season while notching a 17-12 singles mark and a 16-8 doubles record on the season. She was the team leader in singles wins thanks in part to nine victories in her last 13 matches in 2004-05.
DOUBLE TIME: The No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams for the Vikings return this season after posting a combined 29-19 record in 2004-05. The No. 1 team of Sarah Galon and Morgan Ungerott went 16-8, winning five in a row from Feb. 25 through March 14. The No. 2 doubles unit of Jenn Myers and Christine Vogelgesang went 13-11, including a streak of five straight victories during the same period.
LIVINGSTONE NOTCHES FIRST CAREER WIN: Junior Alex Livingstone, a walk-on, won his first collegiate match on Sept. 9, defeating Zach Landgraf from Youngstown State in straight sets 6-1, 6-1. Livingstone previously had won several exhibition matches, but this was his first victory in tournament play. Last season, Livingstone went 0-2 in tournaments and lost his only match at the No. 6 singles position.
TEEING OFF: A three-time All-Horizon League second team selection, senior Jay Tee is in his fourth season as a member of the Vikings. In the first dual meet Tee won his doubles match against Duquesne before falling in singles play as the No. 2 seed. Tee completed the first tournament of the season as a finalist in his flight with a 2-1 singles record. He teamed up with junior Dan Singer to post a record of 2-1 in doubles. Tee ended last season with a 6-10 singles record, spending most of the time at No. 2 singles. Tee also finished the year with a 7-6 doubles record, playing with three different partners over the course of the season. When he is not on the court, Tee serves as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The committee is presently coordinating a campus-wide effort to supply relief to those who were affected in the Gulf area by Hurricane Katrina.
UP NEXT: The men will travel to Western New York for the Can-Am Tournament at Niagara University from Oct. 14-16. This tournament matches teams from the USA up against Candian schools. The eomrn will be off until Oct. 20-24 whe both the men and the women travel to East Lansing, Mich. for the ITA Regional Tournament.
