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CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State men's tennis team will compete at the Horizon League Tournament this weekend, entering the championship as the No. 2 seed. The Vikings will begin play on Saturday, April 27 in a semifinal contest against the winner of No. 3 Youngstown State/No. 6 Detroit. The winner of the semifinal contest will go on to play in the championship match on Sunday, April 28. All matches in the Horizon League Tournament will take place at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Ind.
2013 Horizon League Tournament Men's Bracket
Getting To The No. 2 Seed: The Vikings headed into the final weekend of the regular season needing a win to clinch the second seed in the tournament and a bye into the semifinals. Cleveland State was able to storm back and earn that victory in a 4-3 decision at Wright State - a team that beat the Vikings during the regular season last year.
Entering The Weekend: Cleveland State enters the tournament on a four-match win streak and has won seven out of its last nine contests. Overall this season the Vikings stand at 10-11 - picking up five wins at home and five wins on the road.
CSU In The Tournament: Under head coach Brian Etzkin the Vikings are 14-4 at the Horizon League Tournament - winning four titles (2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011) and advancing the Championship match five times.
Against The League This Season: The Vikings finished the regular season with a 5-1 mark in league play, with their only loss coming against top-seeded Green Bay in a 5-2 decision earlier this month. CSU has picked up a pair of 7-0 sweeps against league opponents this season - Detroit and Valparaiso - while its other victories came as 4-3 decisions against Youngstown State, UIC and Wright State.
Kuelker On A Roll: Matt Kuelker enters the weekend with a team-high 18-13 singles record this season and has won four straight matches and seven of his last nine. Kuelker went 5-1 in league play at No. 2 singles this year, dropping his only match at Green Bay.
...van der Vloet & Jonsson Continue Winning Ways: Jorg van der Vloet and Niklas Jonsson also enter the weekend on win streaks, as they have both won three-straight heading into Saturday's semifinal contest. van der Vloet, who is third on the team with 13 singles wins, has been CSU's lone No. 1 singles player and finished the regular season with a 3-3 mark in league play. Jonsson has played primarily at No. 4 singles this year and posted a perfect 4-0 mark in league play.
Dynamic Duo: Cleveland State's No. 1 doubles team of Ali Shabib and Niklas Jonsson enters the tournament ranked fourth all-time on the CSU single season wins list with an overall record of 23-6 this year. The duo has won seven of its last eight matches and finished the regular season with a 5-1 mark in league play.
