CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team picked up its first win of the 2020 spring season Saturday, capturing a 5-2 victory over Toledo in the team's home opener.
PDF BOX SCORE | Cleveland State 5, Toledo 2
Quick Hits
· With his No. 1 doubles win against the Rockets, Nico Mostardi is now tied for 10th on the CSU Doubles Wins List with 60 career doubles victories.
· Matthew Terry recorded the 70th singles win of his collegiate career with his win at the No. 2 spot against Toledo, becoming the 10th Viking all-time with 70+ career singles wins.
· Saturday's win marked the first of the 2020 spring season for the Vikings, and improved Cleveland State to 27-10 in the MMTP all-time.
The Match
Cleveland State was able to get out to the quick 1-0 lead following doubles play, as the Vikings picked up matching 6-3 victories at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. The duo of Nico Mostardi and Luke Phillips were playing at the top of the lineup for the Vikings, while Clark Bilinovich and Jack Santilli earned the win at the No. 3 spot to clinch the first point of the match.
Phillips then gave the Vikings a 2-0 lead with a quick victory at No. 3 singles, as he picked up his 10th singles win of the year with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Toledo's Krzysztof Wetoszka.
The Vikings then gained a 3-0 advantage following a win at the top of the singles lineup, as Mostardi notched his first win of the spring season with a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Danilo Vukotic.
Cleveland State's clinching point came from Bilinovich at the No. 4 spot then, as he captured a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Filip Zupancic to give the Vikings their first win of dual match play.
After Toledo was able to get on the board with a win at No. 5 singles, Matthew Terry posted his team-leading 17th singles win of the year with a 6-2, 7-6(5) victory over Cole Shoults at the No. 2 spot, before the Rockets were able to claim their second point with a win at No. 6 singles.
From The Sidelines
"Doubles play was a big momentum builder for us today - I thought winning the early doubles point was key to giving us an edge going in to singles play. The top half of our singles lineup did really well today, they definitely set the tone for us in singles, and came out with the energy that we needed. I thought we showed improvement from our first match earlier this week which is what we are striving for every time we take the court this season."
"Even better than the matches on the court, was the energy that the crowd brought today! It was such a great atmosphere to play in, and we definitely fed off of their energy to lead us to the win. We had great support from the athletic department and the Cleveland community at large, and it is such a cool feeling as a player and as a coach to have so many people cheering you on." – head coach Brian Etzkin
Up Next
The Vikings will be idle until Thursday, January 30, when they return to action with a 6:00 p.m. contest at Penn State.
The Results
Doubles (3, 1)
1. Mostardi/Phillips (CSU) def. Vukotic/Zupancic (UT), 6-3
2. Terry/Mindry (CSU) vs. Shoults/Wetoszka (UT), 3-5
3. Bilinovich/Santilli (CSU) def. Kleinschnitz/Skaer (UT), 6-3
Singles (3, 1, 4, 5, 2, 6)
1. #65 Nico Mostardi (CSU) def. Danilo Vukotic (UT), 6-4, 6-4
2. Matthew Terry (CSU) def. Cole Shoults (UT), 6-2, 7-6(5)
3. Luke Phillips (CSU) def. Krzysztof Wetoszka (UT), 6-3, 6-1
4. Clark Bilinovich (CSU) def. Filip Zupancic (UT), 6-4, 6-2
5. Luis Kleinschnitz (UT) def. Kade Mindry (CSU), 4-6, 6-3, 1-0(6)
6. Max Skaer (UT) def. Jack Santilli (CSU), 6-0, 4-6, 1-0(9)
