CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team opened up a four-match roadswing Saturday, picking up a 6-1 victory at Xavier to improve to 4-2 overall this spring.
Quick Hits
· With the 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles against Xavier, Matthew Terry and Kade Mindry kept their record perfect this spring, improving to 5-0.
· After teaming with Luke Phillips for a 6-3 win at the top of the doubles lineup, Nico Mostardi moved into a tie for ninth place on the CSU Doubles Wins List with 63 career doubles wins.
· Matthew Terry notched his 20th win of the year against Xavier, marking the third straight year that he has recorded 20 or more singles wins.
· With his win at the top of the singles lineup, Nico Mostardi marked his fifth straight singles win, improving to a team-best 5-1 during dual match play.
· Saturday's victory marked the first road win for the Vikings this spring.
PDF BOX SCORE | Cleveland State 6, Xavier 1
For the fifth straight match the Vikings were able to pick up the early doubles point, getting off to the 1-0 lead after wins at the top two spots. At No. 1 doubles, Luke Phillips and Nico Mostardi picked up a 6-3 win, while Matthew Terry and Kade Mindry posted a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles.
Although Xavier was able to even the match at 1-1 with a win at No. 6 singles, the Vikings responded with wins at No. 4 and No. 3 singles from Clark Bilinovich and Phillips, giving the Vikings a 3-1 advantage.
Bilinovich posted a 6-2, 6-2 win over Xavier's Jan Vrba, while Phillips' win came in a 7-5, 6-3 decision over Matthew Graft.
Cleveland State's clinching point came from Terry at No. 2 singles then, as he earned a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Srdan Pejic to notch his 20th singles win of the year.
The Vikings then picked up wins in the final two matches left on court, as Mindry earned a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Shashank Reddy and Mostardi posted a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win against Brett Winters.
From The Sidelines
"This was a good win for us today, I thought we escaped danger over and over again, and I came away from this match extremely proud of the mental toughness that everyone showed on the court. We stuck to our game plan on all of the courts, and handled everything that Xavier gave us. Again, the doubles point proved to be a good boost for us, as it gave us some confidence, and even though we had some speed bumps in singles, we were able to carry the momentum from doubles throughout the entire match. We were able to turn around a 4-3 loss from last year into a 6-1 win on the road today, and I think this gives us a great feeling heading into tomorrow's match at Louisville." – head coach Brian Etzkin
Up Next
Cleveland State will continue its four-match roadswing tomorrow (Sunday, February 9), traveling to Louisville for a 4:30 p.m. contest.
The Results
Doubles (3, 1, 2)
1. Mostardi/Phillips (CSU) def. Winters/Srdan (XAV), 6-3
2. Terry/Mindry (CSU) def. Lee/Vrba (XAV), 6-4
3. Graft/Reddy (XAV) def. Santilli/Bilinovich (CSU), 6-2
Singles (6, 4, 3, 2, 5, 1)
1. #86 Nico Mostardi (CSU) def. Brett Winters (XAV), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Matthew Terry (CSU) def. Srdan Pejic (XAV), 7-6(4), 6-4
3. Luke Phillips (CSU) def. Matthew Graft (XAV), 7-5, 6-3
4. Clark Bilinovich (CSU) def. Jan Vrba (XAV), 6-2, 6-2
5. Kade Mindry (CSU) def. Shashank Reddy (XAV), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
6. Aaron Thompson (XAV) def. Jack Santilli (CSU), 6-1, 6-3
