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FISHERS, Ind. - The Cleveland State men's tennis team wrapped up the non-league portion of its schedule Saturday afternoon, defeating Butler, 5-2. CSU is now 9-11 on the season and will conclude league play tomorrow (Sunday, April 21) at Wright State.
"We had a good win today against a good opponent in some tough conditions. It was cold and very windy outside, but despite the conditions the guys played tough and pulled out a victory," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Once again we had sharp doubles play, winning at No. 1 and No. 2 and we were up a break at No. 3 before we stopped the match. I'm excited that we continue to stay focused and play sharp at doubles, working hard to collect the first point of the match every time we are on the court."
The Vikings got off to a strong start against the Bulldogs, picking up the doubles point for the fourth straight match. The No. 1 duo of Ali Shabib and Niklas Jonsson improved to 23-5 with an 8-4 victory, while Nolan Marks andMatt Kuelker picked up an 8-3 win at the No. 2 position.
Cleveland State was able to carry this momentum into singles play Saturday afternoon, as the Vikings picked up three of their four singles wins in straight sets. Matt Kuelker earned his team-leading 17th win of the season at the No. 2 spot, picking up a 6-3, 6-0 victory, while Jorg van der Vloet claimed a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles and Nolan Marks posted a 7-6, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles.
The final singles win for the Vikings came from Joe VanMeter at the No. 6 spot, as he battled for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 three-set win. The win was VanMeter's 13th of the year and the third out of his last five matches.
"Matt got us out to a quick 2-0 lead with his win - and I was pumped to see him really go to work out there and play his style of tennis. Jorg then picked up a win over a very good player at No. 1 singles who has always gotten the best of us in the past. Nolan really had a tough match today, but he was able to pull out the win in the end and clinch the match for us - defeating an opponent that he has played numerous times for the first time in a sanctioned event. Joe is playing smarter tennis right now, letting his opponent help him on the court, and he picked up our final point of the day against Butler," Etzkin said.
The Vikings will conclude the regular season tomorrow (Sunday, April 21) at Wright State, facing the Raiders at 4:00 p.m. at the South Regency Tennis Center.
Cleveland State 5, Butler 2
Doubles:
1. SHABIB, Ali/JONSSON, Niklas (CSU) def. WOLDMOE, Austin/WELDON, Billy (BU) 8-4
2. KUELKER, Matt/MARKS, Nolan (CSU) def. BHATTACHARYA, P./O'NEILL, Sam (BU) 8-3
3. MARX, Tommy/GEERAERT, Ruben (BU) vs. VAN DER VLOET, Jorg/VANMETER, Joe (CSU) 4-6, unfinished
Singles:
1. van der Vloet, Jorg (CSU) def. WOLDMOE, Austin (BU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Kuelker, Matt (CSU) def. BHATTACHARYA, P. (BU) 6-3, 6-0
3. O'NEILL, Sam (BU) def. Shabib, Ali (CSU) 7-5, 3-6, 10-5
4. Marks, Nolan (CSU) def. MARX, Tommy (BU) 7-6 (5), 6-2
5. WELDON, Billy (BU) def. Ford, Matt (CSU) 6-3, 6-2
6. VanMeter, Joe (CSU) def. GEERAERT, Ruben (BU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
