SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After winning his third match over the last two days, Cleveland State men's tennis senior Benjamin Slade has advanced to the Main Singles Draw at the ITA Midwest Regional.

UPDATED DRAWS | MAIN SINGLES | MAIN DOUBLES

Slade's third round victory came against Western Michigan's Zac Faveri, as he battled for a 6-7(2), 7-6(2), 7-6(2) win to earn one of eight qualifying spots in the main draw. Slade now has five singles wins this fall, and ranks eighth on the CSU Singles Wins List with 65 career wins.

"The final round of the qualifying singles draw was exciting today, we had two people playing for spots in the main draw, and we were able to capture one of them with Ben advancing," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Ben had never qualified for the main draw throughout his career, so it was exciting to see him play some really good tennis and finally clinch a spot in the main draw."

Cleveland State also had three teams begin play in the Main Doubles Draw Friday, with two of the teams advancing to the second round before bowing out of the tournament.

The duo of Slade and Nico Mostardi picked up an 8-1 victory in their first round match against UIC, before falling to a Notre Dame tandem, 8-6 in the second round.

Matthew Terry and Raul Teichmann also picked up an 8-1 win against UIC in the opening round, and then dropped an 8-3 match against Michigan in their second match of the day.

"We started off really well in doubles today, but we weren't able to continue that momentum in the second round. Despite bowing out of the doubles draw in the second round, I thought we played some good doubles today and have been showing improvement week after week this fall," Etzkin said.

Action in the Main Singles Draw will begin tomorrow (Saturday, October 20), with Nico Mostardi, Matthew Terry and Luke Phillips joining Slade. Two rounds of the Main Singles Draw are slated for tomorrow. 

Qualifying Singles Third Round
Benjamin Slade (CSU) def. Zac Faveri (WMU), 6-7(2), 7-6(2), 7-6(2)
Daniel Rayl (ND) def. Raul Teichmann (CSU), 6-3, 6-2

Main Doubles First Round
Slade/Mostardi (CSU) def. Strandberg/Wasilewicz (UIC), 8-1
Teichmann/Terry (CSU) def. Nguyen/Parlklo (UIC), 8-1
Hedstrom/Wale (UIC) def. Bilinovich/Phillips (CSU), 8-6

Main Doubles Second Round
Broadus/Gamble (ND) def. Slade/Mostardi (CSU), 8-6
Johnston/Tishman (MICH) def. Teichmann/Terry (CSU), 8-3