INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – For the second straight year, the Cleveland State men's tennis team has been selected to win the Horizon League Championship in the annual #HLMTEN Preseason Poll which was released Tuesday afternoon (January 15).
This marks the seventh year that the Horizon League has released a Preseason Tennis Poll, with Cleveland State favored to win for just the second time. It also marks the sixth time out of seven preseason polls that the Vikings were tabbed as a top-two selection.
The preseason poll is voted on by each head coach.
Cleveland State enters the 2019 spring season as the reigning Horizon League Champions, and returns six letterwinners for the upcoming dual season. Included in the six returners are junior Nico Mostardi, the reigning Horizon League Player of the Year, and sophomore Matthew Terry, the reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Year.
Entering the spring season, two Vikings have eclipsed the 50-win mark in singles play, including senior Benjamin Slade who ranks eighth on the CSU Singles Wins List with 66 career victories. Mostardi is also closing in on the CSU Singles Wins List, sitting six wins shy of the top-10 with 54 career victories.
Head coach Brian Etkin is in his 17th year at the helm of the Vikings, owning a 234-170 dual match record. Last year, Etzkin guided the Vikings to their sixth Horizon League Tournament title and sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament, while posting his 13th winning season at Cleveland State.
The Vikings will begin their spring season with a six-match roadswing, starting with a 10:00 a.m. match at No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday, January 20.
2019 Horizon League Men's Tennis Preseason Poll
1. Cleveland State (7), 49
2. Youngstown State, 39
3. Green Bay, 35
4. UIC, 28
5. IUPUI, 20
6. Wright State, 16
7. Northern Kentucky, 9
