INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Cleveland State men's tennis team clinched the Horizon League North Division Regular Season Title on Sunday, as a 6-1 victory at IUPUI improved the Vikings to 7-0 in #HLTennis play. The win also extended the Vikings' current win streak to eight straight matches, and put Cleveland State at 19-6 on the year.
"We went into today's match knowing that we could clinch the North Division and secure the North #1 seed, and I thought the team played really well and focused at a high level throughout the match," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We knew the result that IUPUI had against YSU yesterday, so we knew what the Jaguars are capable of, but we came in playing at a high level and never got away from that."
The Vikings were able to pick up the doubles point for the sixth straight match on Sunday, as a 6-0 victory from Maxime Mareschal-Hay/Mikael Erler at No. 3 doubles and a 6-4 win from Kade Mindry/Raul Teichmann at the top of the lineup clinched the early 1-0 lead for Cleveland State.
With the win at No. 1 doubles, Mindry and Teichmann improved to a team-best 17-11 overall this year and 13-8 as a duo this spring.
Mareschal-Hay carried his momentum into singles then, as he gave the Vikings a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at the top of the lineup. With the win, Mareschal-Hay remained perfect against league opponents, improving to 7-0 on the year.
Cleveland State then gained a 3-0 edge following a 6-1, 6-4 win from Teichmann at No. 4 singles, as he improved to a team-best 24-10 on the year with his seventh straight victory.
After IUPUI was able to pick up a win at No. 2 singles, Devin Boyer clinched the match for the Vikings with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory at the No. 5 spot.
Mindry added on another point with a win at No. 3 singles then, as a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory marked his 20th singles win of the season.
"Big props to Kade and Raul for beating opponents that they lost to the first time around, getting points back is huge when you play someone a second time. I'm proud of the entire team for making history and being the first-ever Horizon League North Division Champions," Etzkin added.
Cleveland State closed out the match with the final singles win at the No. 6 spot, as Carl Gedlitschka earned a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory to put the final score at 6-1 Vikings.
The Vikings will close out regular season play next weekend, traveling to Youngstown State on Saturday, April 22.
