CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. – The Cleveland State men's tennis team remained perfect in Horizon League play Saturday, picking up a 4-3 victory at Northern Kentucky. The win marked Cleveland State's seventh straight victory, while the Vikings are now 18-6 overall and 6-0 in league matches.
"This was a battle tonight, NKU gave us all we could handle, but the team has been great at 'finding a way' this year," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Our doubles was sharp and key for us today, while super-senior Raul came through in a big moment when we needed him. We are looking forward to playing in Indy tomorrow and seeing if we can keep this thing going!"
The Vikings got out to the early lead after doubles play on Saturday, as matching 6-4 wins from Kade Mindry/Raul Teichmann and Maxime Mareschal-Hay/Mikael Erler at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, respectively, put Cleveland State up 1-0.
After Northern Kentucky was able to even the match with a win at No. 5 to start singles play, the Vikings responded with a 6-2, 6-3 win from Mindry at No. 3 singles to regain a 2-1 lead. Mindry's victory marked the 50th of his collegiate career, becoming the third Viking to eclipsed the 50-win milestone this season.
Cleveland State then gained a 3-1 advantage following a 6-4, 6-1 win from Mareschal-Hay at the top of the lineup, keeping him perfect in #HLTennis singles play this season at 6-0.
NKU then put the score at 3-2 with a win at the No. 6 spot, before Teichmann clinched the match for the Vikings with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles.
The Norse then closed out the match with a win at No. 2 singles, putting the final score at 4-3.
Cleveland State will close out the weekend tomorrow, traveling to IUPUI for a 6:00 p.m. match.
