INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Cleveland State men's tennis team opened its first Horizon League roadswing with a victory on Saturday, picking up a 7-0 sweep at IUPUI. With the win, the Vikings improve to 2-1 in Horizon League play this year.
"We had a good week in practice and had some good energy going into today's match, and that led to us being able to pick up a huge Horizon League win," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Everyone played well up and down the lineup, including Austin who was once again ready when called upon and stepped into the lineup for us today and picked up the clinching point. Credit to IUPUI for their competitiveness today, they had a little surge at the start of the match, but we were able to maintain our focus and regain control to pull away with the win."
The Vikings were able to pick up the early doubles point – now earning the doubles point in all three league matches – with a 6-4 win from Kade Mindry and JuandeDios Abboud at No. 2 doubles and a 6-3 win from Mikael Erler and Maxime Mareschal-Hay at the No. 3 spot.
Cleveland State was able to earn a 2-0 lead following a win at the top of the singles lineup, as Mareschal-Hay earned a 6-2, 6-0 victory over IUPUI's Alex Jochim, marking his 16th singles win of the season.
Clark Bilinovich then gave the Vikings a 3-0 advantage with a win at the No. 4 spot, posting a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Colton Moreheart of IUPUI. With the win, Bilinovich became the sixth Viking with double-digit singles wins on the year, while he also moved into a tie for 14th on the CSU Singles Wins List with 58 career victories.
Cleveland State's clinching point came at No. 6 singles, as Austin Staiger notched a 6-4, 6-3 win over IUPUI's Nate Day to secure the victory for the Vikings. Staiger now stands at 4-4 this spring, and has won four straight singles matches.
The Vikings were then able to pick up wins at the remaining three spots, as Erler picked up a 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles, Mindry posted a 3-6, 6-4, 1-0(7) victory at No. 3 singles and Abboud earned a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 win at the No. 5 spot.
The Vikings will continue the weekend's action at UIC tomorrow (Sunday, April 3), facing the Flames at 11:00 a.m. EST.
