CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State men's tennis head coach Brian Etzkin announced the 2020 Spring Schedule Tuesday evening, which features a 24-match lineup including a 12-match home slate.
From The Sidelines
"We put together a great schedule this year, with a lot of opportunities for the team – and individuals – to push themselves on the court match-after-match. I'm excited to see what we can accomplish throughout the tough non-league slate, which will hopefully prepare us for the Horizon League lineup at the end of the year. We had a great fall season that we can continue to build off of, and I'm looking forward to having another successful spring season." – Head Coach Brian Etzkin
Vikings At The Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion
Cleveland State's 2020 Spring Schedule features 12 home matches, which will be held at the Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion. Since 2016 when the MMTP was opened, the Vikings have combined for a 26-10 record, including a program-best 11-1 mark during the 2018 campaign. This year's non-league home slate is highlighted by a trio of matches against Toledo (Jan. 18), Butler (Feb. 1) and Western Michigan (Feb. 26).
Vikings Set For Tough Competition
Cleveland State's 2020 spring campaign features three teams that ended last year ranked in the top-75, including a pair of teams that finished in the top-40. The Vikings will face two of these three teams during the first three weeks of the season, traveling to Kentucky (Jan. 16) and Penn State (Jan. 30), who finished 2019 ranked 37th and 33rd, respectively. The third top-75 opponent for the Vikings will come during February, when they travel to Louisville (Feb. 9) who finished last year ranked 61st nationally. In addition to these three teams, four other opponents finished the year ranked in their respective regions; Butler (Feb. 1), Valparaiso (Feb. 15), Western Michigan (Feb. 26), and Purdue (March 1).
Vikings Earns Highest Regional Ranking
Cleveland State finished the 2019 spring season ranked eighth regionally, marking the program's highest regional ranking. The Vikings finished with a 19-8 overall record, and made their second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year. This marked the fourth time in program history that the Vikings have appeared in the year-end regional rankings, also earning the honor following the 2017-18, 2009-10 and 2008-09 seasons.
2020 #HLMTEN Schedule
The Vikings will begin defense of their 2019 Horizon League Regular Season Championship in late March, kicking off the six-match league slate against Green Bay on March 22. The Vikings will then host Youngstown State (March 28), Northern Kentucky (April 10) and Wright State (April 11), before traveling to IUPUI (April 18) and UIC (April 19). Over the last two seasons, the Vikings have posted a 12-1 regular season #HLMTEN record, including a perfect 6-0 mark last year.
2020 #HLMTEN Tournament
This year's Horizon League Tournament will take place in Ann Arbor, Mich. and will run Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26. The Vikings are the two-time defending tournament champions and have captured seven titles in program history. Cleveland State's seven tournament championships leads all current league teams, while it ranks second all-time.
