PERRYSBURG, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's tennis team continued the 2021 campaign Friday afternoon, dropping a hard fought 4-3 match at Bowling Green.
"This was a tough match for us today, we were having a rough go early on in the match, but this team kept fighting and stayed focused which allowed us to get right back in the match once we picked up a few singles wins, and for that I am extremely proud," head coach Frank Polito said. "Miruna and Kate played some great tennis today, and Blanche showed her maturity in the third set to be able to pull out the win. Even in defeat, Beth was playing toe-to-toe with a fifth-year senior, which was impressive given the strange preseason that we have had this year. Hopefully we will be able to take the positives from this match and prepare for our Horizon League opener next weekend."
After getting behind early, the Vikings were able to close the gap to 3-2 following a pair of wins from Miruna Vasilescu at the top of the lineup and Kateryna Avram at No. 6 singles. Vasilescu posted a 6-3, 6-0 win against Ioanna Tsadari to improve to 4-2 on the season, while Avram's win came in a 6-3, 6-1 decision over Hannah Neuman at the No. 6 spot.
With two matches left on the courts – No. 3 and No. 5 singles – the Vikings were able to force both into third sets. Although Cleveland State would eventually come up short at the No. 5 spot, Blanche Lenoan was able to give the Vikings one more point for the match, picking up a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles.
With the win against Bowling Green's Yulia Kapitanova, Lenoan picked up the 50th singles win of her career, becoming the 16th Viking all-time to reach the milestone.
Despite dropping the doubles point, Cleveland State's No. 2 team of Lenoan and Avram picked up a 6-4 victory against the Falcons, giving them a team-best 4-2 record on the season.
Next up, the Vikings will begin Horizon League play, hosting UIC in a two-match series on Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14.
