Feb. 28, 2006
SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State men's and women's tennis teams host Chicago State on Saturday, Mar. 4 at 6:00p.m. at the River Oaks Racquet Club in Rocky River, Ohio. On Sunday, Mar. 5 the women host conference foe Youngstown at 4:30p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: The men's team improved to 3-7 for the year after a 4-3 victory over IPFW on Feb. 17. Thanks to a strong performance at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles the Vikings secured the early lead and went on to win three of their six singles matches. Olivier Dhaine continued to lead CSU at No. 1 singles, downing Landry Nzudie 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 and improving to 5-1. Rob West and Dan Singer also earned wins for the Vikings.
The women's team went 1-2 Feb. 17-18, losing to SEMO and IPFW 4-3 on Feb. 17. They rebounded one day later with a 6-1 victory over Oakland. Christine Vogelgesang went 3-0 at No. 6 singles, improving to 9-5 for the year. The women struggled in doubles against SEMO, but were able to pull out the doubles win against IPFW and sweep the doubles point against Oakland.
HEAD COACH Brian Etzkin: Brian Etzkin is now in his fourth year with both the men's and women's tennis programs. Etzkin, the 2003-04 Horizon League Women's Coach of the Year, has accumulated the most career wins for a coach in CSU history with 28. Last season, he coached Sarah Galon to Horizon League Player of the Year honors, the first time a Viking tennis player has won the award. On the men's side he has coached the 2003 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year (senior Jay Tee) and had players on both the first and second All-Horizon League teams.
ETZKIN ON THE MEN: "It's always exciting when both the men and women play simultaneously because we always come out with a lot of Viking spirit and the fans have a lot to look forward to. I'm expecting a high-energy night. Our matches against Chicago State have always been close and I'm anticipating another close one this eekend. The guys are starting to get some confidence behind them and we're at the point now where we think we have a chance to beat anyone we play."
ETZKIN ON THE WOMEN: "It looks like Chicago State is a match we're favored to win but you never know. We'll have to come expecting them to play their best and battle for every point. Obviously our big match will be Youngstown on Sunday since it's our first conference match of the season. They are a team we've been chasing since I've been here and each year we gain some ground. They have some new players, but so do we and I like how we matchup down the lineup."
INTERNATIONAL FLAIR: As the newest addition to the Vikings lineup, junior transfer Olivier Dhaine is showing signs of great promise. Dhaine, a native of France, is 5-1 for the spring after a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory over IPFW's Landry Nzudie on Feb. 17. The win follows on the heels of a 6-2, 7-5 victory over UW-Green Bay on Feb. 11. Dhaine suffered his only loss of the year against Iowa's J.P. Ritchie, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 10-4, on Feb. 10. Dhaine marked his collegiate debut on Jan. 28, outplaying Xavier's Doug Matthews 6-2, 6-4 at No. 3 singles for the Vikings' only win of the day.
BREATH OF FRESH AIR: Despite a recent slump against some tough competition freshman Steven Wipprecht continues to add depth to the Vikings lineup. No. 6 Wipprecht is currently 3-3 for the spring after a 6-1, 7-6 (6) loss on Feb. 17 to Nathan Jones of IPFW. Previously, he nearly defeated UW-Green Bay's Eric Hines on Feb. 11 in a three-set nail-biter, 6-3, 6-7 (7-3), 6-2. Wiprecht, who went 7-4 during the fall at No. 4 singles, defeated Dave Rueter of Niagara, 6-2, 6-1 (Feb. 3) and Antonia Farias of St. Bonaventure, 3-6, 6-0, 10-3 (Feb. 4) at No. 6 singles. He is 9-7 for the year.
Christine Vogelgesang is also on fire this spring at No. 6 singles with a 7-4 record. On Feb. 17 she defeated Morgan Kemp of SEMO 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 followed by a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Jessica Vervynckt of IPFW. One day later she defeated Oakland's Lauren Sanchez-Murphy 6-3, 6-2. Vogelgesang has only lost one of her last seven matches.
BREAKING IT IN: Sophomore Brad Groleski is finally back in action with the Vikngs after a year-long haitus due to a broken wrist. Groleski downed UW-Green Bay's Eric Plaushines 6-2, 7-5 (Feb. 11) for his first win of the spring.
SINGLED OUT: Sophomore Jenn Myers has pleasantly surprised coach Etzkin at the top of the lineup, improving to 12-7 for the year. Most recently, she deafeted Amanda Scheer of Oakland, 6-0, 6-1 on Feb. 18. Myers went on a three-match winning streak for the Vikings after the first home dual meet of the season. The Chillicothe, Ohio native defeated Stephanie Fosnight of St. Bonaventure 6-0, 6-2 on Jan. 27 at No. 2 singles. Two days later she secured CSU's only win against Toledo (Jan. 29) and grabbed her third two-set victory of the weekend against Robert Morris.
DOUBLE DUTY: The women's No. 1 doubles team of Sarah Galon and Morgan Ungerott is on fire this season, posting an 10-5 record for the year. The duo went 2-1 (Feb. 17-18), downing IPFW and Oakland 8-2. Galon and Ungerott suffered their only loss of the weekend to SEMO, 8-3. The pair carried a three-match winning streak from Jan. 29-Feb. 4, before suffering a loss to Buffalo (Feb. 5), 8-4.
Jenn Myers and Christine Vogelgesang remain strong at No. 3 doubles with a 6-5 record. The sophomore unit topped SEMO, 8-4, (Feb. 17) followed by a tough 8-6 loss to IPFW that evening. The pair got back on track one day later with an 8-5 victory over Oakland.
HAWAIIAN PUNCH:. Junior Sarah Galon continues to lead the Vikings at No. 1 singles despite going up against some tough compeition. Galon is currently 7-4 for the spring, winning all but one match in two sets. She downed Sachi Janek of IPFW 6-1, 6-2, on Feb. 17 followed by a 6-1, 6-1 win over Teuta Lelgiurai of Oakland on Feb. 18. Galon became the first Vikings tennis player to earn Horizon League Player of the Year honors this past year. She was named Horizon League Newcomer of the Year two seasons ago.
FLEET OF FIRSTS: The women's tennis team capped off their fall season at the ITA Regional (Oct. 21-24) with a number of firsts for Cleveland State. A record six Viking women competed in singles and doubles at the 2005 regional in East Lansing, Mich. Sarah Galon added to her already impressive resume by becoming the first women's tennis player in Cleveland State history to compete in the singles main draw. Galon also teamed up with Morgan Ungerott to earn the Vikings' first ever regional win in the consolation round of the doubles main draw.
UP NEXT: After a week of spring training in Orlando, Fla. the women travel to Duquesne on Mar. 23. The men travel to Michigan State on Mar. 25.
