CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team picked up another Horizon League win on Saturday, earning a 5-2 victory over IUPUI. With the win, the Vikings now stand at 12-10 overall this season and 6-1 in league matches.
"This was another good team win for us and a great team effort on the courts today," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We put ourselves in a new position by dropping the doubles point, but I liked how the guys responded, and within the first 20 minutes of singles we were able to turn the momentum around. Austin was able to tie the match with a quick win on his court, followed soon after by Kade who gave us our first lead of the day. Clark and Raul were both down a break in their second sets, but they had some great focus to turn both matches around, while Juan was able to pull out another win on his court."
For the first time in Horizon League play the Vikings dropped the doubles point, entering singles action trailing 1-0. Despite dropping the early doubles point, the Vikings were able to pick up a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles from JuandeDios Abboud and Kade Mindry.
Austin Staiger quickly evened the match for the Vikings with a win at No. 6 singles then, as he earned a 6-1, 6-4 victory to improve to 5-1 in league matches this season.
Mindry then gave the Vikings their first lead of the match with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles, putting Cleveland State up 2-1. With his win against the Jaguars, Mindry now has a team-best 23 singles wins this season.
Clark Bilinovich added to Cleveland State's lead with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles, while Raul Teichmann clinched the match for the Vikings with a 6-2, 7-5 victory at the No. 5 spot.
With his win on Saturday, Bilinovich remained perfect in league play this season, and is now in sole possession of 12th place on the CSU Singles Wins List with 63 career victories.
After the Mikael Erler was forced to retire in his match at the top of the lineup – giving IUPUI another point – Abboud closed out the match for Cleveland State, picking up a 6-1, 7-5 victory at No. 4 singles.
The Vikings will close out the regular season at home next weekend, hosting league-leading Youngstown State on Saturday, April 23.
