VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Cleveland State men's tennis team closed out its current four-match roadswing Saturday, dropping a hard fought 4-3 decision at Valparaiso.
PDF BOX SCORE | Valparaiso 4, Cleveland State 3
Quick Hits
· With his win at No. 2 singles, Matthew Terry became one of just eight Vikings all-time with 75 career singles victories, while he improved to 22-5 on the year.
· Luke Phillips notched his second straight singles win on Saturday, moving into 12th place on the CSU Singles Wins List with 61 career victories.
· After teaming with Luke Phillips for a win at No. 1 doubles against Valparaiso, Nico Mostardi now has 65 career doubles wins.
· Friday's match marked the final contest of a four-match roadswing for the Vikings.
The Match
After falling behind 2-0 early on for the second straight match, the Vikings were once again able to even the contest at 2-2 following a pair of quick singles wins from Matthew Terry and Luke Phillips.
Terry posted a 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 2 spot over Valparaiso's Brian Pecyna, while Phillips earned a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles against Gabriel Carvajal. Terry's win put him at 6-3 this spring, while Phillips improved to 5-4 during dual match play.
Cleveland State was then able to take a slim 3-2 advantage following a win at the No. 5 spot, as Kade Mindry earned a 6-0, 7-6(5) win over Andrej Kalenic for the third singles win of his collegiate career.
Valparaiso responded with a win at No. 6 singles then, putting the No. 1 singles match as the last court on. After dropping the first set, Cleveland State's Nico Mostardi fought back to earn a 7-6(4) win during the second set, but then came up just short in the third frame, as Valparaiso's Brandon Ancona came away with the three-set victory to clinch the match for the Crusaders.
From The Sidelines
"This was a tough match for us today, it was unfortunate that we weren't able to pick up the win, but I thought the entire team did a great job of bouncing back from a tough loss yesterday and putting it all on the line again today. This was the second match in a row that we weren't able to pick up the doubles point – which is a bit frustrating – since we have relied on the doubles point so much this season. Despite not getting the early lead, we still had a great chance to pick up the win entering singles play, but we just weren't able to put the points on the board today. Matt and Luke were able to get us a couple of quick wins, and then Kade did a great job of bouncing back from his match yesterday, and played with a clear head to pick a win today. We now have some time off to get ourselves back on the right track and work on some things heading into another tough matchup against Western Michigan when we take the court next time out." – head coach Brian Etzkin
"It was really hard for the team to hear about Valparaiso having to cut their men's tennis program after this season, and they came to me earlier this year wanting to do something to honor the great history of the program. So for today's match we wore Valpo yellow shorts in acknowledgment of the players, alumni, fans, and supporters – a gesture that the Valpo team and coaching staff really appreciated." – head coach Brian Etzkin
"The men's tennis rivalry between Cleveland State and Valparaiso has existed for years, and over the last couple years when they were in the Horizon League it was awesome to be a part of. When you play against each other as often as we did, you really get to know people on the team, and my teammates and I thought that wearing the Valpo yellow shorts was a small way that we could honor them in our final match against each other." – senior Nico Mostardi
Up Next
The Vikings will return to action on Wednesday, February 26, hosting Western Michigan in a 5:00 p.m. contest.
The Results
Doubles (3, 1, 2)
1. Mostardi/Phillips (CSU) def. Pecyna/Ancona (VALPO), 6-4
2. Brozovich/Carvajal (VALPO) def. Mindry/Terry (CSU), 6-3
3. Langston/Mendoza (VALPO) def. Cenkner/Santilli (CSU), 6-2
Singles (4, 2, 3, 5, 6, 1)
1. Brandon Ancona (VALPO) def. #86 Nico Mostardi (CSU), 6-1, 6-7(4), 7-5
2. Matthew Terry (CSU) def. Brian Pecyna (VALPO), 6-3, 6-2
3. Luke Phillips (CSU) def. Gabriel Carvajal (VALPO), 6-2, 6-3
4. Daniel Langston (VALPO) def. Clark Bilinovich (CSU), 2-1, retired
5. Kade Mindry (CSU) def. Andrej Kalenic (VALPO), 6-0, 7-6(5)
6. Franklin Brozovich (VALPO) def. Jack Santilli (CSU), 6-3, 6-4
