CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team opened up their home slate this weekend, dropping a close 4-3 match to Ball State. 

"I think we came out and played a good doubles point today, and then carried that momentum to get two quick points at the top spots in singles, but then we unfortunately struggled in the three set matches, which was tough," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We definitely had enough fire power in our lineup to pick up the win today, but hopefully we will come out strong tomorrow and see what we can do to turn some of those three set matches in our favor."

The Vikings were able to get out to the early 1-0 lead after picking up the doubles point, with wins at the top two spots. At No. 1 doubles, Nico Mostardi and Luke Phillips earned a 6-3 victory, while Clark Bilinovich and Raul Teichmann posted a matching 6-3 win at the No. 2 spot. 

Despite holding the early advantage, the Vikings were only able to add on two singles points, as Mostardi and Phillips won at the top of the lineup for the Vikings. 

Mostardi picked up his first win of the season with a 6-1, 7-6(6) victory over Ball State's Thibault De Negri at the No. 1 spot. Mostardi's win gives him 85 career singles victories, as he is now just the fourth Viking all-time to reach the 85-win milestone. 

Phillips, who was playing up a spot in the lineup at No. 2 singles, picked up his win with a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Danilo Kovacevic of Ball State. The win marked Phillips' first of the season, and gives him 65 career singles wins. 

Freshman JuandeDios Abboud made his collegiate debut Saturday, as he stepped into the No. 6 spot in the singles lineup. 

Cleveland State will close out the weekend doubleheader against Ball State with an 11:00 a.m. match tomorrow (Sunday, January 31).