March 29, 2009
Contact: Dana Ingraham
BOARDMAN, Ohio -- The women's tennis team encountered a few firsts Friday night as it notched its first 4-3 win of the spring season over Youngstown State. The match also marked the first Horizon League victory for the Viking women this year.
The doubles point proved to be key to start the match. Sanda Bjelan and Myra Pepino teamed up at the No. 2 spot, pulling away with a 9-8(3) victory, and Melissa Holzinger and Jackie Tabb followed up with an 8-3 win to secure the first point for CSU.
Cleveland State traded points with Youngstown State down the lineup, and with the match tied at 3 after Pepino's three-set tiebreaker loss to Gretchen Cloern at No. 5, the fate of the Vikings fell on the shoulders of Bjelan.
The Switzerland native won the first set 6-3 before falling behind 5-2 in the second set. Bjelan then came back to win the last five points in a row to come out on top, 7-5, and lift CSU to its first conference victory.
"This was a really exciting win for us," said Cleveland State coach Brian Etzkin. "We knew it was going to be a battle coming in, and although we were winning the whole time it was by a slim margin. This was a great way to start our conference play, but we know we can play with more confidence against our future Horizon League opponents."
The win brings Cleveland State's record to 11-7 this season.
Conference play will continue when the women host Detroit on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Although the Vikings fared well against the Titans in fall tournament play, they will be looking to make up for last spring when Detroit knocked CSU down to fourth place in the 2008 Horizon League tournament.
Cleveland State 4, Youngstown State 3
March 27, 2009, Boardman Tennis Center
Doubles
1. Cloern/Lynch (YSU) def. Gibbons/Bjerrehus (CSU), 8-6
2. Bjelan/Pepino (CSU) def. Haralambopoulos/Hankle (YSU) , 9-8(3)
3. Holzinger/Tabb (CSU) def. Volkova/Welch (YSU), 8-3
Singles
1. Catrine Bjerrehus (CSU) def. Sarah Lynch (YSU), 6-3, 6-3
2. Lauren Hankle (YSU) def. Melissa Holzinger (CSU), 6-2, 6-1
3. Anna Volkova (YSU) def. Charlotte Gibbons (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
4. Jackie Tabb (CSU) def. Tanisha Welch (YSU), 6-2, 6-3
5. Gretchen Cloern (YSU) def. Myra Pepino (CSU), 4-6, 7-6(6), 10-5
6. Sanda Bjelan (CSU) def. Irena Lanc (YSU), 6-3, 7-5
Exhibition match
Nicole Haralambopoulos (YSU) def. Molly Drake (CSU), 8-6
