March 24, 2011
Contact: Greg Murphy
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Following three matches down south for its spring training trip, the Cleveland State men's tennis team returns north and continues Horizon League play when the Vikings play at Green Bay on Saturday (March 26) at 4:00 p.m.
It will be the first of six straight league matches for the three time defending Horizon League champion Vikings.
CSU enters the week at 7-7 overall and 1-0 in league play, having defeated Youngstown State in early March.
"This is what we have been working toward this spring," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "This match against Green Bay is going to be a very good contest. They are an up and coming team and we know that we are going to have to bring a lot of energy and intensity to the court in both singles and doubles.
"Our doubles is starting to find its niche and that is important because there is a chance that this match, as well as some other league matches, will come down to that doubles point. So we have to continue to play strong tennis."
CSU went 1-2 on its spring training trip, earning a 4-3 win at Lamar on the final day of the trip (March 18). The Vikings also fell at Louisiana Lafayette (5-2) and at Nicholls State (4-3).
"We had a very successful training trip and I saw some good things from this team," Etzkin said. "Obviously, we would have liked to win all three matches, but hopefully we were able to learn from those matches and take some things forward with us as we head into the league season."
Senior Rob Fox continued his stellar play, winning two of three matches at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles with teammate John Haley.
Fox is tied with junior Yannick Goossens for the team-lead with 16 singles wins, while he and Haley have gone 21-9 at the top singles spot.
In addition, Fox's 90 career singles wins are second all-time in CSU history, trailing Phil Orno's record of 99 wins.
Following Friday's match at Green Bay, the Vikings return home to host two Horizon League contests next weekend. The Vikings will play Valparaiso on Saturday (April 2) at 2:00 p.m. and UIC on Sunday (April 3) at 3:00 p.m. in a rematch of the last three league title matches.
