March 2, 2005
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Setting the Scene: The men's and women's tennis teams make a brief stop home this weekend as they battle Chicago State on Saturday (March 5) beginning at 6:00 p.m. at River Oaks Racquet Club. The women's team then heads to Youngstown State on Sunday (March 6) for a 9:00 a.m. match with the Penguins.
Previewing the Vikings: The Cleveland State women's team touts an 8-6 overall record and a 2-0 mark in the Horizon League. The women's team is coming off of a successful weekend that saw them edge out UW-Green Bay on Friday (Feb. 25) by a 4-3 score before registering a 6-1 win over UW-Milwaukee on Saturday (Feb. 26). Sophomore Sarah Galon and freshmen Jenn Myers and Lindsay Sellers picked up a pair of singles wins for the Vikings, who improved to 2-0 in the Horizon League. The men's team holds a 4-7 overall mark after dropping their last match to Toledo (5-2) on Feb. 19. Senior Eric Winn and junior Jordan Reynolds lead the team with six wins a piece.
Previewing the Cougars: The Chicago State women's team comes into this weekend's match with a 4-4 record overall and a 1-2 mark this spring, dropping matches to DePaul (7-0) and Northern Iowa (7-0) while topping UW-Milwaukee (5-2). Senior Robbie Barnett leads the team at No. 1 singles, while senior Edyta Urban follows in the No. 2 slot. The Cougars' men's team touts a 3-6 mark this season after going 0-4 to start the spring. Freshman Prabowo Imanuel leads the team with 10 wins at No. 1 singles.
Previewing the Penguins: The Youngstown State women's team holds a 5-5 mark on the season heading into a match at Robert Morris on March 2. After cruising through the fall schedule with a 5-0 mark, the Penguins have had a tough go this spring, falling in five straight matches. YSU dropped their last match to Ball State by a 6-1 count. Sophomore Gina Peretti has won four of her last five matches this spring. The Penguins will host Dayton on Saturday (Feb. 5) before the Vikings come to town.
Vikings Get One From UW-Green Bay: Freshman Lindsay Sellers claimed a tough win at No. 4 singles to seal the Vikings first win in Horizon League competition as CSU tallied a 4-3 victory at UW-Green Bay on Feb. 25. The Vikings jumped out to 1-0 lead after scoring the doubles point with victories from Sarah Galon and Morgan Ungerott took a No. 1 and Jenn Myers and Christine Vogelgesang at No. 2. Myers then tallied a fast 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 2 singles over Amber Murdoch, before Galon scored the No. 1 singles point after rallying back from 3-0 in the first set for a 7-5, 6-3 win. UWGB would claim three tough-fought matches to knot the scoring at 3-3, setting up Sellers' decisive match.
...And Add Another Over UW-Milwaukee: The women's tennis team picked up a strong 6-1 victory over UW-Milwaukee on Feb. 26 to move to 2-0 in Horizon League play. The Vikings got a quick doubles point, with the three tandems earning a sweep. Sophomore Morgan Ungerott got things rolling in the singles competition with a quick 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 3, followed by Lindsay Sellers battling for a 7-6 (3), 6-1 win at No. 4. Galon would seal the win for CSU with a three-set match at No. 1, claiming a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory.
Back to the Front: Eric Winn moved back to the front line for the men's squad against Toledo last weekend, and the senior responded to the challenge with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Josh Moran. He had spent the majority of his career with the Vikings at the No. 1 position but has seen most of his playing time at No. 2 this season. Winn holds a 2-0 mark at No. 1 this season and has a 23-31 mark during his career.
Aloha from Cleveland: You would think that a native of Hawaii would find the weather in Cleveland a little less than inviting. But sophomore No. 1 Sarah Galon has thrived on the shores of Lake Erie, as the Waianae, Ha. native is tied for the team lead with 10 wins. Last season, Galon had one of the best first years of any Cleveland State player, being named the Horizon League's Newcomer of Year and to the all-league first team after leading the Vikings with an 18-9 record as the No. 1.
Freshman Success: Cleveland State freshmen Jenn Myers and Lindsay Sellers have stepped up big for the Vikings' women's team this season, combining for 18 wins on the season at No. 2 and No. 4 singles. Myers tallied the Vikings' lone singles win against Toledo on Feb. 19, while Sellers earned the match-deciding point against UW-Green Bay on Feb. 25.
Don't Mess With Texas: Cleveland State seniors Paul Haley and Eric Winn know about playing big. The Lone Star State natives have been staples in the Cleveland State lineup for the past three and a half seasons, combining for 71 wins to date, with both players seeing regular time at No. 1 singles during their careers. The tandem has also teamed up at No. 1 doubles for three of the past four seasons, tallying 15 wins during that span.
Road Trip Anyone?: The Cleveland State tennis teams will be spending a lot of time away from Cleveland for the next two months as the Vikings will see playing time at Malaga Tennis Center only once in February and March. CSU will play a total of 19 matches on the road this spring, with all of them being played from Feb. 19 to April 2, while playing only Chicago State at home on March 5 during that span. The Vikings will somewhat make up for the travels at the end of the season, however, playing their last seven contests before the Horizon League Championships at Malaga.
The Coaches: Brian Etzkin is in his third season at the helm of the Viking tennis teams, holding a combined record of 46-93 (26-46 men, 20-47 women). He has been given the task reviving the men's tennis program, which returned in 2000 after an eight-year hiatus. Prior to his arrival at Cleveland State, Etzkin spent two years as an assistant at Western Illinois before being named an assistant coach at Michigan State. He is assisted by David Howell, a native of Solon, who joined the program after spending a season as interim head coach at Allegheny College. A standout player for Allegheny from '96-00, Howell served as assistant coach at St. Lawrence University from 2001-02. Also assisting as a volunteer is Teresa Boylan, who returns to Cleveland State after serving as head coach from 1997-2001.
Next Up: The Viking will play a total of seven schools in eight matches at their spring trip in Orlando, Fla. on March 13-16.
