March 29, 2009
Contact: Dana Ingraham
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- After falling just short to one of the top tennis programs in Florida, Cleveland State returned home to take on one of the best in Ohio, this time with better results. The Vikings dominated the top four singles matches on their way to handing Xavier a 4-3 decision Saturday afternoon.
Juniors Phil Orno and Ryan Hamning suffered just their second loss of the year at their No. 1 doubles post as Cleveland State dropped the doubles point early on.
CSU proved again how strong its singles effort has been throughout the season, striking back with four key victories from Orno, Hamning, Rob West and Yannick Goossens at numbers one through four. Goossens fell 3-6 to Richard Canelas in the first set before coming back and winning the next two, 6-3, to clinch the match.
"As a team the men have really excelled in singles play this year, and those four wins are a testament to their work ethic," said Cleveland State assistant coach Mark Barry. "We could have been a little bit more assertive when things got tight, especially in doubles play, but it is our heart and fighting spirit that got us through the match today."
The Vikings have recorded 4-3 victories in their last two meetings with Xavier. Both teams participated in the 2008 NCAA tournament as winners of their respective conferences.
Cleveland State 4, Xavier 3
March 28, 2009, at Cincinnati, Ohio (Mercy Fairfield)
Doubles
1. Herrlinger/Matthews (XU) def. Orno/Hamning (CSU), 8-5
2. Ismail/Torbeck (XU) def. Goossens/West (CSU), 8-5
3. Fox/Wipprecht (CSU) def. Deye/Starr (XU), 8-7(10-8)
Singles
1. Phil Orno (CSU) def. Doug Matthews (XU), 6-2, 6-2
2. Rob West (CSU) def. Chris Herrlinger (XU), 6-1, 6-4
3. Ryan Hamning (CSU) def. Ra'ees Ismail (XU), 6-1, 6-1
4. Yannick Goossens (CSU) def. Richard Canelas (XU), 3-6 , 6-3, 6-3
5. Bobby Deye (XU) def. Robert Fox (CSU), 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 10-7
6. Mike Dieciuc (XU) def. Steven Wipprecht (CSU), 6-1, 7-5
