YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Manuel Bellutti picked up his 20^th singles win of the season Saturday evening, but the Cleveland State men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to Youngstown State. The Vikings now stand at 12-6 overall this season and 2-1 in Horizon League action.

 "We have been getting into the habit of digging ourselves into holes early on in matches, and today it caught up to us. Youngstown State competed really well today, they were the better team and hopefully we will get another chance at them," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "The doubles point really cost us today, and hopefully we will take this as a little kick in the rear and a wakeup call to use as motivation going forward this season."

During doubles play the Vikings were only able to pick up a victory at the top of the lineup, entering singles play down 1-0. CSU's No. 1 doubles team of Ali Shabib and Nolan Marks picked up a 6-4 victory, improving their Horizon League record to 3-0 this spring.

Bellutti was able to quickly even the match at 1-1 following a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 3 singles – his 20^th singles win of the season. Bellutti also has a team-best 13-3 singles record this spring.

Joe VanMeter then gave the Vikings a 2-1 advantage with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles, improving his overall record to 19-11 this spring.

Youngstown State was then able to post three straight victories at No. 5, No. 1, and No. 6 singles, clinching the match with the victory at the bottom of the lineup.

Despite the match already being decided, Shabib was able to come away victorious in his match, earning a 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 victory at No. 4 singles. Shabib now stands at 15-13 this season, and 11-6 this spring.

"Joe has played a couple of solid matches in a row now, and Ali hit some of his best balls of the season today. Manuel was able to beat a guy he lost to earlier in the year, so we had a lot of positives come out of today's match," Etzkin said. "This loss definitely stung, but we are determined to bounce back."

Following Saturday's contest at Youngstown State, Bellutti and Shabib are still perfect in Horizon League singles play, standing at 3-0 this spring.

Cleveland State will return to action on Tuesday (April 7), facing Xavier at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday's match will be played at Elysium Tennis Club - a neutral site - in Plain City, Ohio.

Youngstown State 4, Cleveland State 3

Doubles:

1. Shabib/Marks (CSU) def. Kabli/Pereira (YSU), 6-4
2. Chancerel/Mistreanu (YSU) def. Bellutti/Radosevic (CSU), 6-4
3. Morth/Mekawi (YSU) def. VanMeter/van der Vloet (CSU), 7-6 (4)

Singles:

1. Remi Chancerel (YSU) def. Jorg van der Vloet (CSU), 6-2, 6-4
2. Joe VanMeter (CSU) def. Hugo Morth (YSU), 6-2, 6-2
3. Manuel Bellutti (CSU) def. Bassem El Mekawi (YSU), 6-1, 6-1
4. Ali Shabib (CSU) def. Silviu Mistreanu (YSU), 4-6, 6-3, 10-8
5. Dawoud Kabli (YSU) def. Mirko Radosevic (CSU), 6-3, 6-2
6. Victor Pereira (YSU) def. Colton Buffington (CSU), 6-4, 6-4

Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3) – Singles (3, 2, 5, 1, 6, 4)