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Vikings Rebound With 4-3 Victory At Marquette

Vikings Rebound With 4-3 Victory At Marquette
Posted: Apr 12, 2015

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Cleveland State men's tennis team closed out non-league play with a victory Sunday evening, earning a 4-3 win at Marquette. The win improves CSU to 14-7 overall this season and 12-5 in non-league action.

"This was a great bounceback day for us – I would rather have the league win, but it was great for us to pick up a win against a solid team in Marquette," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Overall I thought we played some good tennis today, and I thought we were a bit more composed than the other team and little more disciplined on the courts."

Cleveland State was once again able to get out to an early 1-0 lead, after picking up wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to clinch the first point of the match. CSU's top doubles team of Ali Shabib and Nolan Marks earned a 6-3 victory at the No. 1 spot – extending their winstreak to seven straight matches and improving to 13-3 overall this season. The Vikings also got a doubles win from Joe VanMeter and Jorg van der Vloet, who notched a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles.

Marquette was then able to even the match at 1-1 at the start of singles play with a victory at the No. 2 spot, before Manuel Bellutti gave CSU a 2-1 advantage following a 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory at the No. 3 spot. Bellutti now has a team-best 22-7 overall record this season, including a 15-4 mark this spring.

The Golden Eagles responded with victories at No. 5 and No. 4 singles to gain a 3-2 lead, but the Vikings were able to close out the final two matches on the courts – both of which came as three-set decisions.

VanMeter notched a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory at No. 1 singles to even the match at 3-3, while Colton Buffington clinched the match for the Vikings with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 win at the No. 6 spot. VanMeter now stands at 21-12 overall this season, and owns a 9-6 record at No. 1 singles, while Buffington improved to 10-10 this spring.

"We played some good doubles again today – playing with a different lineup – but getting the crucial first point of the match. At the end of the day, the doubles point was a key factor in the victory, and I'm glad to see us making improvements in our doubles play. We were then able to stay focused during singles action, and were once again able to pick up a couple of three-set wins with Joe and Colton closing out the match for us," Etzkin said.

The Vikings will close out the regular season at home next weekend, hosting Valparaiso (Saturday, April 18) and UIC (Sunday, April 19).

Cleveland State 4, Marquette 3

Doubles:

  1. Shabib/Marks (CSU) def. Fernandez/Teofanovic (MAR), 6-3
  2. VanMeter/van der Vloet (CSU) def. Dykema/Stearns (MAR), 6-2
  3. Bellutti/Buffington (CSU) vs. Trukov/Romanello (MAR), 5-4, unf

Singles:

  1. Joe VanMeter (CSU) def. Daniel Fernandez (MAR), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
  2. Vukasin Teofanovic (MAR) def. Jorg van der Vloet (CSU), 6-4, 6-3
  3. Manuel Bellutti (CSU) def. Nick Dykema (MAR), 7-6 (5), 6-2
  4. Kristiyan Trukov (MAR) def. Ali Shabib (CSU), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
  5. Mackenzie Stearns (MAR) def. Mirko Radosevic (CSU), 6-3, 7-6
  6. Colton Buffington (CSU) def. Cameron Tehrani (MAR), 7-5, 4-6, 6-0

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