This will be the eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Vikings, with all eight appearances coming under head coach Brian Etzkin. The Vikings will be trying for their first win in NCAA Tournament play, as they currently stand at 0-7 in NCAA Tournament matches.

 

The Vikings own an 18-4 overall record and have won 15 straight matches - marking the fourth time in program history that they have won 10+ consecutive matches. Individually, five Vikings enter Friday's match with singles win streaks, as Luke Phillips (10), Maxime Mareschal-Hay (9), Matthew Terry (7), Nico Mostardi (5), and Kade Mindry (4) all have extended win streaks.

 

For the eighth time in program history - and the third straight year - the Vikings captured the Horizon League Tournament title last weekend, picking up back-to-back wins against IUPUI and Northern Kentucky to earn the 2021 crown. Cleveland State entered the tournament as the top seed, after also claiming the Horizon League Regular season title. Cleveland State's eight tournament titles are the second most in league history, while the Vikings are just the second team to win three straight titles on multiple occasions.

 

Entering NCAA Tournament play Cleveland State owns 18 wins on the year - tied for the fourth highest single-season win total in program history. This marks the seventh time that the Vikings have eclipsed the 18-win mark, with six of those years coming under head coach Brian Etzkin. Cleveland State's 18-4 record marks the 16th winning season during Etzkin's 19 seasons at the helm.

 

After picking up a pair of wins in #HLTennis Tournament play last weekend, the Vikings are currently on a program-best 15-match win streak - which is tied for the second longest active win streak among Division I teams this season. This marks the fourth time that the Vikings have posted a double-digit win streak under head coach Brian Etzkin, also doing so during the 2018-19, 2010-11 and 2008-09 campaigns. Entering Friday's First Round match, Cleveland State has won 18 of its last 19 matches, including a perfect 2-0 mark so far during the month of May.

 

The trio of Matthew Terry, Maxime Mareschal-Hay and Brian Etzkin all picked up major honors from the Horizon League last week, as Terry was named the Player of the Year, Mareschal-Hay was named the Freshman of the Year and Etzkin earned Coach of the Year accolades. This marks the third straight year that a Viking has earned Player of the Year honors (Nico Mostardi 2018 & 2019), while it's the third time out of the last four years that a Viking has been named Freshman of the Year (Nico Mostardi 2017, Matthew Terry 2018). 

 

In addition to Matthew Terry (First Team) and Maxime Mareschal-Hay (Second Team), Nico Mostardi and Luke Phillips also earned All-League honors last week, as Mostardi was named to the First Team and Phillips was named to the Second Team. Mostardi becomes just the third Viking to be a three-time First Team honoree, while Phillips earned a spot on the Second Team for the third time in his career.

 

Throughout four weeks of Horizon League regular season play, the Viking duo of Luke Phillips & Matthew Terry posted perfect 8-0 singles records against league opponents - the only league players to go 8-0 in regular season #HLTennis matches this season. For their careers, Phillips and Terry have combined to go 39-3 during regular season league matches, including another perfect 7-0 campaign for Phillips as a freshman in 2018.

 

So far this season Cleveland State has picked up the doubles point in 19 of its 21 matches, including both matches at the Horizon League Tournament last weekend. For the year, the duos of Nico Mostardi/Luke Phillips and Matthew Terry/Maxime Mareschal-Hay both have 11-4 records, including a six-match win streak from Terry and Mareschal-Hay.

 

Entering NCAA Tournament play, the trio of Nico Mostardi, Matthew Terry and Luke Phillips are currently ranked in the top-10 on the CSU Singles Wins List. Terry currently leads the group sitting third with 92 career wins, while Mostardi ranks fourth with 90 wins and Phillips is eighth with 81 career victories. Terry and Mostardi are two of just four Vikings all-time with 90+ career wins, while Phillips joins Terry and Mostardi as one of nine Vikings to reach the 80-win milestone. 

 

Nico Mostardi and Luke Phillips are also ranked on the CSU Doubles Wins List, as they are currently tied for fourth as a tandem with 26 wins, while Mostardi ranks fifth individually with 77 wins and Phillips ranks ninth with 69 victories. Mostardi and Phillips are two of eight Vikings to be ranked on both the singles and doubles wins list.

 

Brian Etzkin is in his 19th year at the helm of the Vikings, owning a 278-188 dual match record. Etzkin has guided the Vikings to eight Horizon League Tournament titles and eight trips to the NCAA Tournament during his tenure. As the all-time winningest coach in program history, Etzkin is one of the longest tenured coaches in the Horizon League, and is the only men's coach to record 275+ wins at their current school.