WESTLAKE, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team returned to action Friday afternoon, splitting a doubleheader against Western Michigan (L, 6-1) and Marietta (W, 7-0). The Vikings are now 9-5 on the season.
Western Michigan 6, Cleveland State 1
In the first match of the doubleheader, Cleveland State fell to Western Michigan, 6-1 – a team that was ranked No. 62 in the latest ITA Team Rankings. This was the first loss at home for the Vikings this season, while it also snapped a three-match winstreak for Cleveland State.
"In the first match of the day we had a great chance against the No. 62 team in Western Michigan, and the guys battled hard throughout the match and hopefully they will be able to grow from this match moving forward," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Ben was able to put his point on the board at No. 5 singles, and we had chances on other courts, and even when we were down 3-0 it looked like we could do it but it just didn't turn in our favor."
Cleveland State's lone point against the Broncos came at No. 5 singles, as Benjamin Slade won his fifth straight singles match in a 7-5, 6-4 decision over Andrew Cahn.
The Vikings also picked up a win at the top of the doubles lineup, as the duo of Joe VanMeter and Andre Mick won their 10th doubles match with a 6-3 victory over Daniel Loebel and Ruben Greiner.
Doubles:
1. VanMeter/Mick (CSU) def. Loebel/Greiner (WMU), 6-3
2. Hamilton/Steiner (WMU) def. Buffington/Goth (CSU), 6-3
3. Beckwith/Payne (WMU) def. Radosevic/Slade (CSU), 7-5
Singles:
1. Maik Steiner (WMU) def. Colton Buffington (CSU), 3-6, 7-6 (5), 10-8
2. Ruben Greiner (WMU) def. Joe VanMeter (CSU), 5-7, 6-4, 10-7
3. Matt Hamilton (WMU) def. Mirko Radosevic (CSU), 7-5, 6-3
4. Daniel Loebel (WMU) def. Kevin Goth (CSU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Benjamin Slade (CSU) def. Andrew Cahn (WMU), 7-5, 6-4
6. Matej Svjetlicic (WMU) def. Andre Mick (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
Cleveland State 7, Marietta 0
The Vikings rebounded during their second match of the doubleheader, sweeping Marietta 7-0. Cleveland State picked up wins in all three doubles matches and all six singles matches.
"We then took care of business during the second match against a competitive Marietta team. Christian Sorige got in the singles lineup and it was great to see him in there battling for a win. We had a great fan turnout today, and I would like to thank Michelle Kuri and Paramount Tennis for being such a great host for us over the last few years. We will definitely miss their hospitality as we move into our wonderful on-campus facility," Etzkin said.
In doubles action the Vikings picked up 6-0 wins at all three spots, getting out to the early 1-0 advantage.
Cleveland State then picked up 6-0, 6-0 straight set victories at No. 2, No. 3, No.4 and No. 5 singles, gaining the 5-0 advantage. The Vikings also picked up a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the top of the singles lineup from Colton Buffington and Christian Sorige notched a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 6 singles - marking his first collegiate singles victory.
Benjamin Slade extended his singles winstreak to six matches against Marietta, picking up his win at the No. 3 spot.
Doubles:
1. Radosevic/Malm (CSU) def. Schaeffer/Spencer (MAR), 6-0
2. Slade/Mick (CSU) def. Kingson/Stone (MAR), 6-0
3. Buffington/Sorige (CSU) def. Sigman/Adkinson (MAR), 6-0
Singles:
1. Colton Buffington (CSU) def. Alex Schaeffer (MAR), 6-1, 6-2
2. Mirko Radosevic (CSU) def. Shane Spencer (MAR), 6-0, 6-0
3. Benjamin Slade (CSU) def. Muhammad Kingson (MAR), 6-0, 6-0
4. Andre Mick (CSU) def. Tanner Sigman (MAR), 6-0, 6-0
5. William Malm (CSU) def. Drew Stone (MAR), 6-0, 6-0
6. Christian Sorige (CSU) def. Chase Leisure (MAR), 6-0, 6-1
Next up for the Vikings will be their annual Spring Break trip, which will take them to the state of Florida for three matches next week. Cleveland State will open the with a neutral site match against Army on Saturday, March 12 and will then face UCF on Sunday, March 13 and Florida Tech on Tuesday, March 15.
