CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team faced its second top-20 opponent of the 2019 spring season Sunday, dropping a hard fought 5-2 decision against No. 18 Michigan. Sunday's loss snapped a five-match winstreak for the Vikings, as they now stand at 7-5 this spring.
PDF BOX SCORE | No. 18 Michigan 5, Cleveland State 2
Quick Hits
· Michigan marked the second top-20 opponent for the Vikings this season, as they entered Sunday's match ranked No. 18 in the most recent ITA/Oracle Team rankings.
· With his 6-7(4), 6-3, 1-0(8) win at the top of the singles lineup, Nico Mostardi is now tied for 10th on the CSU Singles Wins List with 60 career victories.
· Nico Mostardi notched his third straight singles win against Michigan, becoming the 11th Viking all-time with 60 career wins.
· Clark Bilinovich won his sixth straight match on Sunday, picking up a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory at No. 6 singles for his team-leading 17th singles win of the season. For the spring, he owns a team-best 8-3 record.
· Despite dropping the doubles point, Cleveland State's No. 2 team of Luke Phillips and William Malm was able to pick up a 6-3 victory, notching their team-leading fourth win this spring.
· As a duo, Luke Phillips and William Malm now have 20 wins on their career, and are tied for ninth on the CSU Doubles Wins List.
· Sunday's match marked the first loss in the MMTP for the Vikings this season, as it also marked the first trip to Cleveland for the Wolverines.
From The Sidelines
"Luke and Will were coming off a couple matches that weren't their best, so to see them turn that around and get a win today was incredible. They played so well today and did a great job of playing off of each other throughout the entire match. Luke created some good shots in doubles and really helped us get off to a good start today."
"Nico and Clark – the two Ohio guys – were able to put some points on the board for us today, which was great. To get two singles wins against a top-20 team is something that we can be proud of. I thought we had some great fight and energy today, and for the last couple matches the team has been coming together and consistently getting better, which is a good sign for things to come."
"This was a great experience for us, we are always playing to win, but we can definitely take some positives from this match today. I give a lot of credit to Adam (Michigan head coach) who was willing to play out the match, because most top teams wouldn't do that and I'm very appreciative of that. Because we played everything out, we were able to get more experience playing in tight spots against top-tier competition and even had the chance to put some points on the board."
"We had another great crowd on hand today, including a lot of support from the community which was great. It is so awesome that we have been able to have some great crowds over the last few matches, and they really get into the matches, which is great because the team feeds off of their energy. Having a great crowd on hand no doubt gives us a great home court advantage and helps shift momentum into our favor in key moments." - Head Coach Brian Etzkin
Up Next
· The Vikings will close out their current eight-match homestand next weekend, hosting a trio of matches against Buffalo (Friday, March 1), Xavier (Sunday, March 3) and Wooster (Sunday, March 3).
The Results
Doubles (2, 3, 1)
1. Brown/Fenty (MICH) def. Mostardi/Slade (CSU), 7-6(6)
2. Malm/Phillips (CSU) def. Schalet/Johnston (MICH), 6-3
3. Fu/Tishman (MICH) def. Teichmann/Terry (CSU), 6-3
Singles (2, 5, 3, 4, 1, 6)
1. Nico Mostardi (CSU) def. Myles Schalet (MICH), 6-7(4), 6-3, 1-0(8)
2. Andrew Fenty (MICH) def. Matthew Terry (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
3. Connor Johnston (MICH) def. Luke Phillips (CSU), 6-2, 6-4
4. Gabe Tishman (MICH) def. Benjamin Slade (CSU), 6-3, 7-5
5. Kristofer Siimar (MICH) def. Raul Teichmann (CSU), 6-3, 6-2
6. Clark Bilinovich (CSU) def. Steven Forman (MICH), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
