Feb. 21, 2010
Contact: Greg Murphy
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Cleveland State senior Phil Orno earned a straight set victory over the 88th-ranked player in the nation and Ryan Hamning saved 23 break points to win at No. 3 singles, but the Vikings seven match win streak ended on Sunday with a 5-2 loss at Marquette.
CSU fell to 8-2 with the loss, its first in three weeks.
"I'm disappointed with the loss because I think we had some chances to come away with a win, but it was an overall good, clean match," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "The competition was great and Marquette was able to win a few key points to get the win."
The Golden Eagles won two of the three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Yannick Goossens and Chris Klepatz earned CSU's win at No. 3 singles with an 8-4 triumph.
"Getting the doubles point was a huge momentum lift for them," Etzkin said. "If we could start getting all three of our teams playing on a high level at the same time, we are going to be very dangerous in doubles. Unfortunately, we were not all clicking today.
"Our No. 3 team was sharp and it was good to see how crisp they can play, especially on the offensive side."
Orno evened the match at 1-1 by making quick work of Dusan Medan at No. 1 singles, winning 6-0, 6-2. Medan came in ranked 88th in the nation and became Orno's first-ever victory over a nationally-ranked opponent.
"Phil is capable of playing at a very high level and he has sustained the level over the last few weeks and that is a scary thing," Etzkin said. "His win today was huge for him and the program."
Hamning gave the Vikings a 2-1 lead with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jose Gutierrez Crawley at No. 3 singles, saving 23 break points in the process.
"Ryan did a nice job of putting pressure on his opponent and had control for most of the match," Etzkin said. "His win gave us a 2-1 lead and some momentum, but we couldn't pull it out in the end."
The Golden Eagles won the rest of the singles contests, but not without a fight as Rob Fox (No. 4) and John Haley (No. 6) went three sets and Chris Klepatz (No. 5) lost in a second set tiebreaker.
"We really pushed hard today, but a few shots here and a few points there were the difference in the match," Etzkin said.
The Vikings are now out of action until their Spring Break trip to Florida from March 14-17. CSU's first match down south will be March 14 at 2:00 p.m. at Florida Atlantic.
Marquette 5, Cleveland State 2
Feb 21, 2010 at Milwaukee, Wis.
Singles competition
1. Orno, Phil (CSU) def. MEDAN, Dusan (MARQ) 6-0, 6-2
2. RUTHERFORD, Mark (MARQ) def. Goossens, Yannick (CSU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Hamning, Ryan (CSU) def. GUTIERREZ, Jose (MARQ) 6-4, 6-4
4. STRAUS, Jacob (MARQ) def. FOX, Rob (CSU) 7-6, 3-6, 6-3
5. BOULIERIS, Niko (MARQ) def. Klepatz, Chris (CSU) 6-3, 7-6
6. PERIM, Otavio (MARQ) def. Haley, John (CSU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. MEDAN, Dusan/STRAUS, Jacob (MARQ) def. ORNO, Phil/HAMNING, Ryan (CSU) 8-5
2. RUTHERFORD, Mark/SCHWERIN, Jonathan (MARQ) def. FOX, Rob/HALEY, John (CSU) 8-3
3. GOOSSENS, Yannick/KLEPATZ, Chris (CSU) def. GUTIERREZ, Jose/BOULIERIS, Niko (MARQ) 8-4
