March 16, 2010
Contact: Greg Murphy
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Cleveland State men's tennis team may have dropped two matches today, but it wasn't a total loss as the Vikings found out early in the day that they cracked the top-75 of the ITA National Rankings, checking in at 74th, the highest ranking in school history.
"It was exciting to learn that we earned that ranking because the players in this program have worked hard to get to this point," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "It is a tribute to the players who came into this program and helped build it up. We know that getting a ranking like this won't help us win a league title or get back to the NCAA tournament and we are going to have to continue to work hard to maintain this position."
After finding out about the ranking, CSU played two tough matches, falling 6-1 to Indiana, ranked 47th in the nation, this morning and 6-1 at Stetson this afternoon.
"We need to make some dramatic changes to our doubles play," Etzkin said. "We are a good doubles team, but didn't show it today. We are going to have to tweak some things and play better doubles because that point is so key."
Yannick Goossens was the lone Viking to win against the Hoosiers, claiming a 3-6, 6-3, 10-3 win at No. 2 singles.
"Goose had a tough, hard fought match and battled hard," Etzkin said. "He never lost his composure and hit some key shots."
Against Stetson, Phil Orno and Ryan Hamning teamed for an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles, but Stetson won the final two flights to earn the doubles points.
Orno than came out at the No. 1 singles position to pick up a 7-6, 6-3 win.
"Phil's match was more mental than anything," Etzkin said. "He was out on the court for about two and a half hours and hit a lot of shots, but didn't let that affect him.
"Overall, I thought we were a few points or a few shots away from making it closer. But those are the types of things we have to work on and get better at. Every shot and every point counts and we're going to continue to preach that, especially with the league schedule right around the corner."
CSU concludes its spring break trip in Florida with a 12:00 p.m. contest on Wednesday (March 17).
Indiana 6, Cleveland State 1
Mar 16, 2010 at Orlando, Fla.
Singles competition
1. LANGER, Jeremy (IU) def. Orno, Phil (CSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Goossens, Yannick (CSU) def. GRUTER, Santiago (IU) 3-6, 6-3, 10-3
3. FERGUSON, Lachlan (IU) def. Hamning, Ryan (CSU) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6
4. MACTAGGART, Josh (IU) def. FOX, Rob (CSU) 6-2, 7-5
5. JUNEAU, Isade (IU) def. Klepatz, Chris (CSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. VAN GILS, Alexander (IU) def. Haley, John (CSU) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. FERGUSON, Lachlan/MACTAGGART, Josh (IU) def. ORNO, Phil/HAMNING, Ryan (CSU) 8-4
2. GRUTER, Santiago/LANGER, Jeremy (IU) def. HALEY, John/FOX, Rob (CSU) 8-1
3. VOGL, Stephen/KENDALL, Will (IU) def. GOOSSENS, Yannick/KLEPATZ, Chris (CSU) 8-7
Stetson 6, Cleveland State 1
Mar 16, 2010 at Deland, Fla.
Singles competition
1. Orno, Phil (CSU) def. MESTAN, Mark (STET) 7-6, 6-3
2. LEVANOVICH, Maksim (STET) def. Goossens, Yannick (CSU) 6-3, 6-0
3. BERG, Didrik (STET) def. Hamning, Ryan (CSU) 6-4, 7-6
4. GALLO, Cesare (STET) def. FOX, Rob (CSU) 6-2, 7-5
5. HACKETT, Alex (STET) def. Klepatz, Chris (CSU) 6-1, 6-1
6. SWANTESON, C (STET) def. Haley, John (CSU) 6-3, 6-7, 11-9
Doubles competition
1. ORNO, Phil/HAMNING, Ryan (CSU) def. BERG, Didrik/SWANTESON, C (STET) 8-6
2. LEVANOVICH, Maksim/GALLO, Cesare (STET) def. FOX, Rob/HALEY, John (CSU) 8-0
3. MESTAN, Mark/HACKETT, Alex (STET) def. GOOSSENS, Yannick/KLEPATZ, Chris (CSU) 8-3
