COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team continued action at the ITA Midwest Regional Saturday, with junior Matthew Terry earning a spot in the Round of 16 in the Main Singles Draw.
MAIN SINGLES DRAW | MAIN DOUBLES DRAW
"This was a long day of tennis for us, but I'm excited for Matt to try and continue his run tomorrow after he earned a spot in the round of 16 today," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Matt had a nice efficient first match, and then followed that up with a big win against a good Notre Dame opponent in the second round. He is playing with a good mentality right now, so I'm excited to see what he can do tomorrow."
For the third straight year, Terry has earned a spot in the Main Singles Draw Round of 16, after picking up a pair of wins Saturday. In his first round match, Terry cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Valparaiso's Brian Pecyna, then followed that up with a 6-1, 7-5 straight-set win over Notre Dame's Tristan McCormick. McCormick entered the regionals ranked No. 107, while he was also playing as the ten-seed in the singles draw.
With his two wins on Saturday, Terry now owns an 11-1 singles record this season, and is in sole possession of 10th place on the CSU Singles Wins List with 64 career victories.
Nico Mostardi, who was playing as the 15-seed, went 1-1 in the Main Singles Draw Saturday. Mostardi earned a 6-2, 6-4 win over Notre Dame's Matthew Halpin in the first round, and then fell to Northwestern's Steven Forman in a 7-5, 6-3 second round decision.
"It was nice to see Nico get a win in the first round today, but unfortunately he came up short in his second round match against a tough opponent. Nico then had to turn around and play a tough doubles match with Luke, as they played a great match against an Ohio State team, but came up just short. I thought Nico and Luke returned well enough to win tonight, especially when we were able to get a couple breaks, but it just wasn't in the cards for us. Overall, this was a great run for them in the doubles draw, and we will use this as a learning experience moving forward this season," Etzkin said.
In the Main Doubles Draw, the Viking duo of Mostardi and Luke Phillips dropped an 8-5 decision to an Ohio State tandem after advancing to the quarterfinals. Their appearance in the quarterfinals tied the program's best doubles finish at the ITA Midwest Regional.
Also in action for the Vikings in the Main Singles Draw were Phillips and Clark Bilinovich, as Phillips dropped a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 decision against Michigan's Harrison Brown, and Bilinovich fell to Freddie O'Brien of Eastern Illinois in a 6-4, 7-6(6) match.
Bilinovich earned a spot in the Main Singles Draw as a lucky loser, after finishing the qualifying bracket with a 2-1 record over the last two days.
Terry will continue play in the Main Singles Draw at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow (Sunday, October 20), with a Round of 16 match against Ohio State's Kyle Seelig.
Main Singles Draw First Round
Nico Mostardi (CSU) def. Matthew Halpin (ND), 6-2, 6-4
Matthew Terry (CSU) def. Brian Pecyna (VALPO), 6-2, 6-3
Freddie O'Brien (EIU) def. Clark Bilinovich (CSU), 6-4, 7-6(6)
Harrison Brown (MICH) def. Luke Phillips (CSU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Main Singles Draw Second Round
Matthew Terry (CSU) def. 107 Tristan McCormick (ND), 6-1, 7-5
Steven Forman (NW) def. Nico Mostardi (CSU), 7-5, 6-3
Main Doubles Draw Quarterfinals
Cash/McNally (OSU) def. Mostardi/Phillips (CSU), 8-5
Consolation Singles
Daniel Hernandez (EIU) def. Jack Santilli (CSU), 7-5, 6-2
Diego Herrera (ISU) def. Luke Phillips (CSU), 7-6(3), 5-7, 1-0(6)
