DEKALB, Ill. – The Cleveland State men's tennis team picked up a pair of wins Saturday, sweeping Nebraska-Omaha, 7-0 and picking up a 4-3 victory over Illinois State. The Vikings are now 5-2 on the season.
During the first match of the day the Vikings were able to cruise to a 7-0 victory over Nebraska-Omaha, sweeping all six singles matches and all three doubles matches.
"During the morning match we took care of business and played tough against a good up-and-coming Division I team in Nebraska-Omaha," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "It was good to see William get into the action, and he did well in singles and doubles, and I'm sure we will see more of him as the season goes on."
In doubles action, Cleveland State picked up a 6-3 win at the top of the lineup from Joe VanMeter and Andre Mick, while Benjamin Slade and Kevin Goth earned a 6-2 win at the No. 2 spot, and Colton Buffington and William Malm posted a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles.
VanMeter then gave Cleveland State a 2-0 lead after a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles, while Malm picked up a 6-2, 6-2 victory at the No. 6 spot to give the Vikings the 3-0 advantage.
The clinching point against Nebraska-Omaha came from Slade at No. 4 singles, as he picked up a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Mick then posted a matching 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 5 spot, followed by Buffington with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 2 singles.
Cleveland State's final victory on the match came at the top of the singles lineup from Mirko Radosevic, as he came away with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory to close out the 7-0 sweep for the Vikings.
Cleveland State 7, Nebraska-Omaha 0
Doubles:
1. VanMeter/Mick (CSU) def. Buckley/Warson (NEB-OM), 6-3
2. Slade/Goth (CSU) def. Dunn/Woodward (NEB-OM), 6-2
3. Buffington/Malm (CSU) def. Anderson/Ellis (NEB-OM), 6-4
Singles:
1. Mirko Radosevic (CSU) def. Colin Buckley (NEB-OM), 6-3, 7-6 (3)
2. Colton Buffington (CSU) def. Matt Dunn (NEB-OM), 6-3, 6-4
3. Joe VanMeter (CSU) def. Alex Woodward (NEB-OM), 6-2, 6-1
4. Benjamin Slade (CSU) def. Marko Minic (NEB-OM), 6-3, 6-2
5. Andre Mick (CSU) def. Erik Anderson (NEB-OM), 6-3, 6-2
6. William Malm (CSU) def. John Ellis (NEB-OM), 6-2, 6-2
The Vikings were able to keep their momentum going during the second match of the day, as Cleveland State picked up an exciting 4-3 victory over Illinois State.
Once again the Vikings were able to pick up the doubles point, coming from behind with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles for the first point of the match. At the top of the lineup, Joe VanMeter and Andre Mick posted a 6-4 victory, while Colton Buffington and Mirko Radosevic battled for a 7-6 (3) victory over the No. 53 ranked doubles team of Christoffer Greve and Dylan Steffens.
"The afternoon match was a really exciting college tennis match, there is nothing better than a 4-3 match," Etzkin said. "We started off strong with some exciting doubles play, capped off by Colton and Mirko clinching the oh-so-important doubles point for us after defeating a ranked doubles duo in the breaker."
After dropping the first two singles matches, the Vikings were able to even the match at 2-2 following a 6-0, 6-4 victory from Mick at No. 6 singles, and then gained a 3-2 advantage after Buffington was able to pick up a three-set victory at the No. 2 spot, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
The clinching point came from VanMeter against Illinois State, as he also came away with a three-set win at No. 3 singles. After picking up the first set (6-2), VanMeter then dropped the second set (3-6), and then battled for a 6-4 win during the third set to clinch the match for the Vikings.
"During singles play, Andre was able to get us back on track evening the score for us, and then Joe and Colton both won in three sets to clinch the match. Joe 'The Captain' VanMeter won his third set 6-4 after getting broken at 4-3, and then breaking back to go up 5-4 before earning the victory. Joe was able to win the last eight points – four on his return and then four points on his serve. I'm very happy with the way the team played today, and thrilled to come away with two wins on the day," Etzkin said.
Cleveland State 4, Illinois State 3
Doubles:
1. VanMeter/Mick (CSU) def. Boers/Oliveria (ISU), 6-4
2. Eisner/Sertkaya (ISU) def. Slade/Goth (CSU), 6-3
3. Buffington/Radosevic (CSU) def. #53 Greve/Steffens (ISU), 7-6 (3)
Singles:
1. U. Krajnc Domiter (ISU) def. Mirko Radosevic (CSU), 6-4, 7-5
2. Colton Buffington (CSU) def. Rodrigo Oliveria (ISU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
3. Joe VanMeter (CSU) def. Andreas Boers (ISU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
4. Christoffer Greve (ISU) def. Benjamin Slade (CSU), 6-0, 6-3
5. Dylan Steffens (ISU) def. Kevin Goth (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
6. Andre Mick (CSU) def. Egehan Sertkaya (ISU), 6-0, 6-4
After going 2-0 at No. 3 singles on the day, Joe VanMeter now has 66 career singles victories, and is just four wins shy of becoming the seventh Viking all-time with 70 career wins. VanMeter is also just five wins shy of moving into sixth place on the Cleveland State Singles Wins List.
Colton Buffington also went 2-0 on the day, improving his spring record to 3-1, entering tomorrow's match against Northern Illinois on a three-match winstreak.
The Vikings have now picked up the doubles point five times this season, with the duo of Joe VanMeter and Andre Mick owning a team-best 5-1 record this spring, with all five wins coming at No. 1 doubles.
The Vikings will close out the weekend with a 12:00 p.m. EST contest against Northern Illinois tomorrow (Sunday, February 14).
