Sept. 11, 2006

Contact: Josh Rattray

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CSU Women's Tennis - at Bowling Green Invitational

Date: September 16-17.

Site: Bowling Green, Ohio

CSU Men's Tennis - Idle

Next: vs. Case Western, Sept. 20, 3:00 p.m.

FIRST SERVE: After opening the season with a strong performance at the Bradley Invitational in Peoria, Ill. over this past weekend, the Cleveland State women's tennis team will play its first tournament in the state of Ohio at the Bowling Green Invitational this weekend (Sept. 16-17). The men's team is idle this week but will host Case Western on Wednesday (Sept. 20) at 3:00 p.m. at the Malaga Tennis Center.

PREVIEWING THE WOMEN: Senior Sarah Galon opened the season on a good note, going 3-0 at Bradley at No. 1 singles. Two freshmen, Denisa Muntean and Charlotte Gibbons, have established themselves early as players who can contribute in the top half of the lineup. Muntean won two of her three matches at the No. 2 spot and Gibbons, who started out at No. 5 singles, climbed to the No. 3 spot and won, 6-0, 6-0 over Jessica Drake of Western Illinois. The Viking lineup was a bit short-handed after junior Lindsay Sellers, the original starter at No. 3 singles, was forced to retire in her first match on Saturday because of injury. Senior Morgan Ungerott went 1-2 in singles play competing at both the No. 3 and 4 spots and will likely remain in the middle of the lineup at Bowling Green. Junior Christine Volgelgesang went 2-2 in the tournament, winning both of her matches at No. 6 singles and dropping two in the fifth spot. Sophomore Kristin Chamberlain won her first two matches of the year at No. 6 singles before finally losing her only match on Sunday.

WOMEN PRESENT DOUBLE TROUBLE: CSU controlled doubles action at Bradley over the opening weekend, winning six of nine matches. Sarah Galon and Morgan Ungerott remained dangerous at No. 1 doubles, posting a 3-0 record. The duo combined to go 22-8 last season in the top doubles spot. The No. 2 team, featuring Kristin Chamberlain with either Charlotte Gibbons or Denisa Muntean, won two of three matches. The third combo team went 1-2 for the weekend and featured a mix of four different players.

ETZKIN ON THE WOMEN: "The tournament at Bradley served its purpose because we wanted to play a lot of matches to start the season. It was nice to see our players at the top of the lineup winning a lot of matches. We feel like we are now better prepared to compete and we're off to a good start."

PREVIEWING THE MEN: The Cleveland State men's tennis team will have a week off after opening the year at the St. Bonaventure Fall Classic. The Viking played very good tennis in the Fall Classic as every player finished in the top half of his singles flight. Sophomore Rob West won three straight matches to capture the No. 6 singles flight crown and sophomore Steven Wipprecht finished second at the No. 5 spot. Junior Brad Groleski and freshman Phil Orno each played to third place finishes at Nos. 2 and 3 singles, respectively. Senior Dan Singer also garnered a third place finish at No. 4 singles. Freshman Ryan Hamning, competing in his first collegiate tournament, finished fourth in the No. 1 singles flight.

ETZKIN ON THE MEN: "We had a very successful first tournament. Rob West winning his flight was one of the highlights, but I was extremely happy that everyone finished in the top half of the tournament. We are going to work on our doubles lineup in practice, try to solidify our lineup and get ready for our next match against Case Western and our next tournament at the Bradley Invitational."

WEST LIKES THE FALL CLASSIC: For the second straight year, Rob West has left the St. Bonaventure Fall Classic with an unblemished ledger. West claimed the No. 6 singles flight with three straight wins, opening with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Youngstown State's Maurice Rucker and a 6-0, 6-1 win over Steve Steenland of St. Bonaventure. West concluded his march to the title with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Jimmy Volgelgesang (brother of CSU women's player Christine) of Duquesne. West is 6-0 all-time at the St. Bonaventure Classic.

WIPPRECHT NOT SO BAD EITHER: Steven Wipprecht finished second in the No. 5 singles flight, matching his runner-up finish at the Fall Classic last year. Wipprecht defeated Youngstown State's Ryan Trap 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the opener and followed that up with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Antonio Faras of St. Bonaventure. Wipprecht lost in the final, 6-3, 7-6 (7), to Gustavo Villares of Duquesne. Wipprecht is a combined 4-2 over two trips to the Fall Classic.

WHAT GREAT SPORTS: Cleveland State swept the Horizon League's inaugural Herb Foster Sportsmanship Awards last season. Brad Groleski won the men's award while Sarah Galon took home the women's trophy, awarded for conduct on and off the court. The award is named in honor of the late Wright State coach who had been at the helm of the Raiders from 1996-2004.

UP NEXT: The Viking women will host IPFW on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 1:00 p.m. at the Malaga Tennis Center. The men host crosstown Case Western on Wednesday, Sept. 20. First serve is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.