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Vikings Advance To Championship Match For Seventh Straight Season

Vikings Advance To Championship Match For Seventh Straight Season
Posted: Apr 26, 2014

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. – For the seventh straight year, the Cleveland State men's tennis team earned a spot in the Horizon League Championship match, defeating Youngstown State, 4-2 Saturday afternoon. The second-seeded Vikings will now face top-seeded Green Bay in the championship match tomorrow (Sunday, April 27) at 3:00 p.m.

Against the Penguins, Cleveland State was able to earn the early 1-0 advantage after picking up wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. CSU's No. 1 doubles team of Ali Shabib and Joe VanMeter cruised to their sixth straight win with an 8-1 decision, while Matt Kuelker and Nolan Marks battled for an 8-5 victory at the No. 2 spot.

The Vikings were able to extend their lead to 2-0 following Manuel Bellutti's ninth straight singles win at the No. 5 spot. Bellutti earned a convincing 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 5 singles, improving his season record to 24-9.

Youngstown State then evened the score at 2-2 with victories at No. 6 and No. 2 singles, before Matt Kuelker regained the lead for the Vikings with a 6-3, 6-4 win at the top of the lineup. Kuelker, who has now won 16 of his last 17 matches, is tied for fourth on the CSU singles wins list with 82 career wins.

Cleveland State's final point of the match came from VanMeter at No. 4 singles, as he battled for a 6-4, 6-4 victory. VanMeter extended his win streak to 15 straight matches, while improving his overall singles record to 21-11.

Sunday's championship match between Cleveland State and Green Bay is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. For those fans that are unable to attend Sunday's match, links for live video and live stats are available via the men's tennis schedule page on CSUVikings.com.

Cleveland State 4, Youngstown State 2

Doubles:

  1. Shabib/VanMeter (CSU) def. Hagn/Kabli (YSU), 8-1
  2. Kuelker/Marks (CSU) def. Schmerin/Campos (YSU), 8-5
  3. Ismail/Mistreanu (YSU) def. Bellutti/van der Vloet (CSU), 8-7 (4)

Singles:

  1. Matt Kuelker (CSU) def. Silviu Mistreanu (YSU), 6-3, 6-4
  2. Sebastian Hagn (YSU) def. Ali Shabib (CSU), 6-2, 6-3
  3. Jorg van der Vloet (CSU) vs. Dawoud Kabli (YSU), 6-3, 4-6, 2-0, unfinished
  4. Joe VanMeter (CSU) def. Zeeshan Ismail (YSU), 6-4, 6-4
  5. Manuel Bellutti (CSU) def. Max Schmerin (YSU), 6-2, 6-3
  6. Rodrigo Campos (YSU) def. Nolan Marks (CSU), 6-3, 7-6 (3)