ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Cleveland State men's tennis team dropped another heartbreaking 4-3 match Saturday afternoon, falling at No. 46 Michigan. With the loss, the Vikings are now 4-3 on the season.
"This was one of our better matches against a great program in Michigan. We pushed them to the brink and I'm very proud of the energy and passion that the team brought to the court today," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Everyone fought for the match until the very end, and it was just a great competition between both teams."
The Wolverines were able to get out to the early 1-0 lead after picking up the doubles point, with victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. Despite dropping the point, Cleveland State was still able to secure a win at No. 1 doubles, with Ali Shabib and Nolan Marks notching a 6-4 victory.
"Ali and Nolan played another great match at the top of the doubles lineup for us, and hopefully this is something that will continue in the coming weeks. We have a better picture of what we need to work on in doubles, and we will continue improving and adjusting in practice. We are very close to hitting our stride in doubles, which will only make us that much stronger on the court," Etzkin said.
Jorg van der Vloet then evened the match for the Vikings, picking up a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 3 singles. van der Vloet, who now owns a perfect 7-0 mark this spring, has improved his overall record to 8-7 this year and is tied for ninth all-time with 52 career wins.
Michigan was then able to regain a 2-1 advantage with a victory at the bottom of the singles lineup, before Joe VanMeter knotted the score at 2-2 with a three-set victory at No. 1 singles. VanMeter tallied a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory, and now has a team-best 13-6 singles record this season.
The two teams once again traded points, Michigan picking up a win at No. 5 singles and Cleveland State earning a victory at the No. 4 spot. Manuel Bellutti captured CSU's victory, posting a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 come-from-behind win. Bellutti is one of two Vikings with double-digit wins this season, standing at 11-5.
"Mirko again had great energy on the court, and is becoming a vocal leader for us that is carrying over to other players. Jorg has been playing solid tennis this season and was once again able to take care of business for us. Joe and Manuel were both able to come back and win their matches in three sets - playing solid tennis under pressure," Etzkin said.
The final match on the courts was between Shabib and Michigan's Michael Zhu – who were playing at the No. 2 spot. Shabib was able to pull out a 7-6 (3) victory during the first set, but Zhu stormed back to pick up 6-4 and 6-2 victories in the second and third sets, respectively. The Michigan win at No. 2 singles gave the Wolverines the slight 4-3 match victory.
The upcoming schedule for the men's tennis team may be altered, so make sure to check CSUVikings.com for updates as they are available on the coming matches.
No. 46 Michigan 4, Cleveland State 3
Doubles:
- Shabib/Marks (CSU) def. Wong/Zhu (UM), 6-4
- Petrone/Knight (UM) def. Bellutti/Radosevic (CSU), 6-2
- Hua/Gardiner (UM) def. VanMeter/Buffington (CSU), 6-4
Singles:
- Joe VanMeter (CSU) def. Alex Petrone (UM), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
- Michael Zhu (UM) def. Ali Shabib (CSU), 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2
- Jorg van der Vloet (CSU) def. Alex Knight (UM), 6-3, 6-2
- Manuel Bellutti (CSU) def. Kevin Wong (UM), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
- Carter Lin (UM) def. Colton Buffington (CSU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
- Davis Crocker (UM) def. Mirko Radosevic (CSU), 7-6 (6), 6-2
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Singles: 3, 6, 1, 5, 4, 2
