March 14, 2007

Contact: Josh Rattray

HILO, Hawaii - Cleveland State split two matches to move to 1-2 on its spring break trip to Hawaii, edging Hawai'i Hilo, 4-3, on March 12 before falling to Hawai'i Manoa, 6-1, the next day. The Vikings, who have just one match remaining in the Aloha State, are now 11-4 on the season.

Freshman Ryan Hamning and sophomore Rob West each won in straight sets to lead the Vikings against Hawai'i Hilo. Hamning dominated the Vulcans' Kevin Tamura 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3 singles while West defeated Lars Melskens 6-3, 6-4. Junior Brad Groleski, playing at No. 2 singles, captured the winning point with a three-set win over Fuyuki Samejima.

The match, which was threatened by upcoming rain storms in the area, was played singles-first and took close to seven hours to complete. CSU blocked out the weather-related distractions to clinch the victory.

"The weather made it difficult, but we did a good job of keeping our concentration," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We had some tough matches in singles early, but the time off gave us a chance to clear our heads and focus on winning the doubles point.

The length of the contest caused the No. 1 doubles match to be omitted. Hamning and Phil Orno did not play because their match would not effect the dual's outcome.

In the loss to Manoa the next day, CSU could not keep up with the Rainbow Warriors, who have been ranked in the top 70 nationally for most of the season. Senior Dan Singer defeated Chad Faulk in three sets 6-7 (1), 7-5, 10-7 for the only Viking point. The Rainbow Warriors captured every other singles point in straight sets.

"They had some very good players, comparable to the level of talent we saw at Michigan State," head coach Brian Etzkin said, citing a 6-1 CSU loss on Jan. 20. "It was a great match to see where we stand against elite competition. In defeat, we were competitive and played very well."

The Vikings close the four-match swing at Hawai'i-BYU on Wednesday (March 14).

CSU 4, Hawai'i Hilo 3

DOUBLES RESULTS

Hamning/Orno - Pollock/Timura - DNP

Groleski/Singer def. Melskens/Mikulasek - 9-7

West/Wipprecht def. Tada/Samejima - 8-5

SINGLES RESULTS

Daniel Pollock (HH) def. Phil Orno - 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5

Brad Groleski def. Fuyuki Samejima (HH) - 4-6, 6-2, 6-2

Ryan Hamning def. Kevin Tamura (HH) - 6-1, 6-4

Tomas Mikulasek (HH) def. Dan Singer - 6-4, 6-3

Rob West def. Lars Melskens (HH) - 6-3, 6-4

Mitchel Gelina (HH) def. Steven Wipprecht - 6-2, 7-5

EXHIBITION

Aaron Tada (HH) def. Danny Popescu - 6-2, 6-0

Hawai'i Manoa 6, CSU 1

DOUBLES RESULTS

Hamning/Orno def. Lojola/Weber - 8-1

Faulk/Fitch def. Groleski/Singer - 8-5

Hunter/Spencer def. West/Wipprecht - 8-3

SINGLES RESULTS

Andreas Weber def. Phil Orno - 6-3, 6-3

Sascha Heinemann def. Brad Groleski - 6-0, 6-2

Derrick Lojola def. Ryan Hamning - 6-2, 6-2

Dan Singer def. Chad Faulk - 6-7 (1), 7-5, 10-7

Jeff Fitch def. Rob West - 6-3, 7-6 (2)

Brent Hunter def. Steven Wipprecht - 6-2, 6-4