SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Cleveland State men's tennis team began play at the ITA Midwest Regional Thursday, with four Vikings participating in the qualifying singles draw.
"We fell short of our goals in the qualifying round this year, but on the positive side, we have a young team right now so I know a lot of our players that didn't get as far as we would have liked will definitely do better in the coming years," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We had a couple bright spots throughout the day, including Andre who is continuing to play his best tennis since being at Cleveland State. In defeat, Kevin played his best tennis for the entire match against a good player, which gives him something to build on moving forward."
Andre Mick picked up CSU's lone victory in the qualifying singles draw Thursday, earning a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) victory over DePaul's Paul John in his opening round match, before falling to Northwestern's Jason Seidman in the round of 32.
Also posting a victory for the Vikings Thursday was Mirko Radosevic, who earned a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over Chicago State's Christian Gonzalez in a consolation match after dropping his opening round contest in the qualifying singles draw.
The Vikings will now have three doubles teams in action tomorrow (Friday, October 23), along with Joe VanMeter representing Cleveland State in the main singles draw. Play will begin at 8:00 a.m. with the final round of qualifying singles, followed by one round of the main singles draw, and one round of the doubles bracket.
Qualifying Singles Draw
Andre Mick (CSU) def. Paul John (DEP), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8)
Jason Seidman (NU) def. Andre Mick (CSU), 7-6 (4), 6-3
Charles Shewalter (OSU) def. Kevin Goth (CSU), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Ivan Rakic (MSU) def. Benjamin Slade (CSU), 6-2, 6-3
Eric Olivarez (WMU) def. Mirko Radosevic (CSU), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
Qualifying Singles Consolation
Michael Savaglio (VALPO) def. Kevin Goth (CSU), 4-6, 6-3, 10-8
Max Cedar Kall (UIC) def. Benjamin Slade (CSU), 6-2, 7-5
Mirko Radosevic (CSU) def. Christian Gonzalez (CHST), 6-3, 7-6 (3)
Carlos Manzanas (NIU) def. William Malm (CSU), 6-3, 5-7, 10-6
