ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The Cleveland State men's tennis team got back in the win column Saturday, picking up a 6-1 victory at St. Bonaventure.
"This was a good match for us today, we played some great tennis as a team and everyone really stepped up in a lot of big moments," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "I was happy that we were able to get the doubles point today, and actually play from a lead throughout the match. We have been working really hard on doubles play during practice and it is good to see it finally pay off for them."
For the first time this season the Vikings were able to pick up the doubles point, earning victories at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Ali Shabib and Joe VanMeter notched their second straight win at the top of the doubles lineup, earning a 6-3 victory, while Matt Kuelker and Nolan Marks posted a 6-2 win at the No. 3 spot.
"Following doubles, Joe was able to pick up a quick second point for us, and then Matt Kuelker quickly followed suit. Ali and Jorg were then able to close out the match for us, cruising to three-set wins, while Matt Ford finished off the match with a win at No. 5. Overall, I think the guys really stuck to their game plan and focused on what they were doing. St. Bonaventure is a solid team and they were definitely scrappy, making us work to come away with the win," Etzkin said.
VanMeter quickly gave CSU a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-0 victory at the No. 4 spot – marking his second singles win of the weekend. Matt Ford and Matt Kuelker also posted straight-set wins, Ford earning a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles and Kuelker posting a 6-1, 6-5 win at the No. 3 spot.
Jorg van der Vloet and Ali Shabib rounded out the singles victories for CSU, picking up three-set wins at the top of the lineup. van der Vloet earned a 6-4, 5-6 (5), 6-3 victory at No. 1 singles, while Shabib posted a 6-4, 5-6 (5), 6-0 victory at No. 2 singles.
The Vikings will return home next weekend, hosting Youngstown State in their first Horizon League match of the year. CSU will face the Penguins at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday (Feb. 16) at the Chagrin Valley Athletic Club in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
Cleveland State 6, St. Bonaventure 1
Doubles:
- Shabib/VanMeter (CSU) def. Nureev/Fanshel (SBU), 6-3
- Irazarry/Ortiz (SBU) def. van der Vloet/Ford (CSU), 6-3
- Kuelker/Marks (CSU) def. Haskell/DeSanto (SBU), 6-2
Singles:
- Jorg van der Vloet (CSU) def. Eduardo Irizarry (SBU), 6-4, 5-6 (5), 6-3
- Ali Shabib (CSU) def. Elliot Fanshel (SBU), 6-4, 5-6 (5), 6-0
- Matt Kuelker (CSU) def. Ramazan Nureev (SBU), 6-1, 6-5
- Joe VanMeter (CSU) def. Javier Ortiz (SBU), 6-2, 6-0
- Matt Ford (CSU) def. Celso de Vera Rehberger (SBU), 6-3, 6-4
- Timothy DeSanto (SBU) def. Nolan Marks (CSU), 6-3, 6-1
