CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team returned to Horizon League play Saturday, picking up a 6-1 victory over Youngstown State to improve to 11-4 overall this season and remain perfect in league play at 3-0.
Saturday's win extended Cleveland State's current win streak to eight straight matches, while the Vikings have now won 13 straight Horizon League regular season matches – dating back to the 2017-18 campaign.
For the 14th time this season the Vikings were able to pick up the early doubles point, picking up wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles to earn the 1-0 advantage.
Cleveland State's No. 3 doubles team of Clark Bilinovich and Kade Mindry earned a 6-1 victory, while the No. 1 tandem of Nico Mostardi and Luke Phillips clinched the doubles point with a 7-6(5) win at the top of the lineup. With their win against the Penguins, Mostardi and Phillips are now tied for seventh on the CSU Team Doubles Wins List with 23 wins as a tandem, while Phillips moved into a tie for ninth on the CSU Individual Doubles Wins List with 66 victories.
"This wasn't our best doubles day, but we were able to get some big shots when we needed them and worked hard to pick up the early point. Credit goes to our No. 3 team for getting us a quick win, and then the No. 1 team for staying focused and battling for the tiebreak victory," head coach Brian Etzkin said.
Bilinovich and Mostardi then gave Cleveland State a 3-0 lead after picking up straight-set singles wins, Bilinovich posting a 6-3, 6-4 win at the No. 5 spot and Mostardi earning a 6-4, 7-5 win at the top of the lineup.
With the win at No. 1 singles, Mostardi moved into a tie for third place on the CSU Singles Wins List with 87 career victories, while Bilinovich is now just four wins shy of reaching the 50-win milestone.
Cleveland State's clinching point came from Matthew Terry at No. 2 singles then, as he battled for a 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 victory, improving to 9-4 on the year.
The final two singles points for the Vikings came from Phillips and Maxime Mareschal-Hay, with both players picking up their team-leading 11th singles wins of the year.
Phillips earned a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles to record his 75th career win, while Mareschal-Hay posted a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory at the No. 4 spot.
"Singles felt really good as we were able to get five first sets to continue the momentum, but we struggled in a few second sets which allowed Youngstown State to shift the momentum a little bit. Clark getting his win at No. 5 singles helped put the momentum back on our side, as we were able to regain our composure and stay focused to pick up the win. Overall this was a great league match, and we are excited to get back out there and do it again tomorrow."
The Vikings will close out their weekend series against Youngstown State tomorrow (Sunday, April 11), with first serve set for 2:00 p.m.
