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Feb. 5, 2008
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Vikings Come Home. . . For the first time since early in the fall, the entire athletic schedule will be played at home this week as all five sports in action will play in Cleveland. The CSU Athletic Hall of Fame Induction ceremony takes center stage on Saturday (Feb. 9) as softball-volleyball standouts Amy Kyler and Tenille Whiteside, longtime adminsitrator and coach Alice Khol and baseball grad Tim Miller will be the 33rd class inducted into the hall of fame. The ceremony takes place beginning at 3:00 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Wolstein Center annex. Both basketball teams return home in second place in the Horizon League. The women's team, which has won 10 of its last 12 games including six straight at home, hosts third-place Milwaukee on Thursday (Feb. 7) at 5:00 p.m. and league-leading Green Bay on Saturday (Feb. 9) at 1:00 p.m. The second place men's team will attempt to end its season high four-game losing streak when the Vikings host Wright State on Thursday (Feb. 7) at 7:30 p.m. CSU then remains at home to face Detroit on Saturday (Feb. 9) at 5:30 p.m. and Green Bay on Monday (Feb. 11) at 7:00 p.m. The wrestling team continues its Eastern Wrestling League season when Edinboro visits Woodling Gym for a Saturday (Feb. 9) match at 7:00 p.m. The men's and women's tennis teams return home after two weeks on the road. The men host Duquesne on Friday (Feb. 8) and both teams square off against Edinboro on Saturday (Feb. 9) at 12:00 noon. All three contests will be held at the River Oaks Racquet Club. Men's Basketball Returns Home For Three Straight. . . The Wolstein Center never looked as good to the men's basketball team. After dropping four straight games on the road over the last two weeks, the Vikings will put their 8-1 home mark and seven-game win streak on the line when CSU plays three games in five days. The Vikings host Wright State on Thursday (Feb. 7) at 7:30 p.m., face Detroit on Saturday (Feb. 9) at 5:30 p.m. and Green Bay on Monday (Feb. 11) at 7:00 p.m. "This is a very important week for us," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "We weren't as successful the last two weeks as we would have liked to have been but as long as we come home and hold serve this week, then our chances to win the in the conference race will still be pretty good. We've played well at home this year which is an important step to take into turning this program into a championship contender." The Vikings will attempt to get back to doing the basics that allowed them to open the Horizon League season by winning their first seven games. In the current four-game losing streak, the Vikings, who continue to lead the league in rebounding (+3.2), were out-boarded by an average of 5.0 rebounds a game. "We haven't played defense the last couple of weeks the way we are capable of playing. Until we do that, it will be very hard for us to find success because we have built this team on defense," Waters added. CSU goes into the week tied with Wright State for second place with a 7-4 record in league play. Both teams are a game-and-a-half behind Butler (9-2) and a half-game ahead of fourth place Milwaukee (7-5). Women's Basketball Returns Home To Host Milwaukee & Green Bay. . . Off to their best start in 24 years, the women's basketball team (13-7, 7-2) returns home when the Vikings host Milwaukee on Thursday (Feb. 7) and Green Bay on Saturday (Feb. 9). The Vikings trail first place Green Bay (8-1) by one game and have a one game advantage on third place Milwaukee (6-3). "We had a great week on the road and to earn two wins against quality teams is a testament to how hard the team has been working," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "Milwaukee and Green Bay are the only two teams to beat us in league play this year and we are going to need to play two solid games this week. We must continue to take care of the basketball and get good looks at the basket." The Vikings, who have won 10 of their last 12 games, extended their win streak to five by picking up road wins at Butler, 65-61, (Jan. 31) and Valparaiso, 86-63, (Feb. 2) last week. Kailey Klein, who leads the league in scoring (19.0 ppg), averaged 28.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the two wins, including a career-high tying 33 point effort at Valpo as CSU set a season-high for points scored. In addition, the Vikings shot .571 (32-56) from the field against the Crusaders, the second best shooting effort in school-history. CSU, which turned the ball over a season-low 11 times against Valpo, hit all 14 of its free throws, which is the second best performance from the foul line in school-history for a single game. CSU's 13 wins are the most in a single-season since the 2000-01 squad went 14-14, while the seven league wins are tied for the third most in school-history. The 2003-04 team holds the school-record with nine conference victories. Wrestling To Host EWL Leader Edinboro. . . Cleveland State (4-8, 0-3 HL) will host Edinboro (7-2, 3-0 HL) this Saturday, February 9 at Woodling Gymnasium. The dual meet is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. EST. Over the past weekend the Vikings lost dual meets on the road against Lock Haven (28-13) and Bloomsburg (23-12). Marcus Effner (23-7 at 165 pounds) and JT Miller (20-14 at 174 pounds) led the team on the road trip as each wrestler went 2-0 for the weekend. Effner scored his 70th and 71st career victories and is now tied for the team lead in wins this season with 23 with Rob Michaels (23-6 at 157 pounds). "It is very disappointing," head coach Jack Effner said, "We are working hard every week in practice and representing the school well, but we are just not getting the wins to show for it. If we continue to work hard and stay positive, the wins will come. Edinboro is the top team in the league, and we need a really good week of practice to be able to do well this week." Marcus Effner and 141-pounder Ryan Hurley each scored milestone wins over the weekend. At Bloomsburg, Effner won his 71st career match while Hurley won his 70th. Effner and Hurley have the 5th and 6th most individual career wins by a Viking wrestler since Jack Effner became head coach prior to the 1998-99 season. JT Miller became the third Viking this season to reach the 20-win mark as he scored victories against Lock Haven and Bloomsburg at 174 pounds. This season the 20-win club also includes Effner (23-7 at 165 pounds) and Michaels (23-6 at 157 pounds). Swimming Idle Until Hosting Horizon League Championships. . . Cleveland State will take the next two weeks off from competition, using the practice time to prepare for the Horizon League Swimming and Diving championships, which will be hosted by CSU from February 20-23 in Busbey Natatorium. The men's team (11-4, 3-1 HL) goes into the championship meet with a perfect 10-0 record at home. The women closed out the regular season at 4-10 (0-5 HL). The men's team finished off the regular season this past Saturday with a win over UIC, 147-92. The women's team lost matchups with UIC (141-83) and Youngstown State (117-108). The men won 10 of 11 events in the meet, with seniors Dave Duecker and Dan Baiko leading the way. Duecker won the 1,000 yard freestyle (9:43.41, a personal best), 200 yd butterfly (1:51.85), and 500 yd free (4:43.81). Baiko won the one-meter (277.80) and three-meter (347.20) dives. "Today was a great meet for our seniors," head coach Wally Morton said, "We now go into our [championship] meet with the idea that we will compete for a championship. Katie Bellew led the women's team with wins in the 200 butterfly (2:12.61), and 200 breaststroke (2:28.58). Both of her winning times were personal and team best marks this season. "I am very proud of our women," Morton said. "Even though we lost, we went right down to the end of the meet with a chance to win [against Youngstown State]. This makes me very confident we will do very well at the championship meet." The Viking men have many of the Horizon League's best times this season, including the three best breaststrokers in the league in Jakub Dobies, Deni Gasparin, and Stef Potgieter. Dobies has achieved NCAA "B" qualifying marks in the 200 (2:00.43) and 100 breast (54.03). Dobies' time in the 100 breast is currently the eighth best in the nation, while his time in the 200 breast is 28th best. On the women's side, senior Lesley Jones has the highest ranking of any Viking in an individual event. She is currently tied for the third best time in the 50 freestyle (24.53). Men's Tennis Continues Season With Two Home Contests. . . The Cleveland State men's tennis team (4-2) is slated to play two matches this week. The Vikings host Duquesne on Friday, Feb. 8 at 7:00 p.m. and St. Francis (PA) on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 12:00 p.m. Both matches will be held at the River Oaks Racquet Club in Rocky River. The Vikings defeated both St. Bonaventure and Niagara with a 4-3 score over the weekend. Sophomore Phil Orno (9-9) went 2-0 for the weekend at No. 2 singles and 2-0 at No. 1 doubles. Freshmen Chris Klepatz (6-7) and Robert Fox (9-6) also went 2-0, at Nos. 3 and 6 singles, respectively. Fox clinched both matches for the Vikings with his victories. Senior Brad Groleski (4-4) won 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5 singles at Niagara. Fox and junior Rob West went 1-1 at No. 2 doubles for the weekend. "We had to play with some different doubles combinations over the weekend, but we still played great doubles to help win," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We have been in some tight matches but have not lost our composure and we have regrouped to pick up some solid wins. This experience can only help us with the rest of the season." Women's Tennis Hosts St. Francis (Pa.). . . The Cleveland State women's tennis team (3-2) has just one match this week, taking on St. Francis (PA) on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 12:00 p.m. at the River Oaks Racquet Club in Rocky River. CSU won the doubles point in both of its victories last week, 6-1 over Niagara on Saturday (Feb. 2) and 7-0 over St. Bonaventure on Sunday (Feb. 3). Freshman Sanda Bjelan and sophomore Charlotte Gibbons went 2-0 at No. 1 doubles over the weekend. Bjelan (9-6) and Gibbons (6-2) also went 2-0 at Nos. 3 and 4 singles, respectively. Freshman Melissa Holzinger (6-10 at No. 1 singles), senior Jenn Myers (8-7 at No. 2 singles) and sophomore Denisa Muntean (8-7) also went 2-0 over the weekend. Lindsay Sellers won 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 at No. 6 singles against St. Bonaventure. "We have become a much more disciplined team this spring," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We won the doubles point for both matches over the weekend and that carried into singles play. Our bench had to step into the lineup this weekend and they helped us get big wins." Viking High Fives Kate Peterson Abiad: The women's basketball head coach has the Vikings in second place in the Horizon League and has guided the team to 10 wins in its last 12 contests, the best stretch in program history. Marcus Effner: The junior 165-pounder (23-7) won both his matches over the weekend. He became tied for the team lead in wins and now has 71 for his career. Dave Duecker: The swimming and diving senior won three events against UIC on Saturday, including the 1,000 free (9:43.41), 200 fly (1:51.85), and 500 free (4:43.81). Dan Baiko: The senior diver won both the one-meter (277.20) and three-meter (347.80) dives against UIC. In doing so he defeated last week's Horizon League diver of the week, Tristan Oleynik. Katie Bellew: Junior swimmer won both the 200 breaststroke (2:28.58) and 200 butterfly (2:12.61). She touched out the second place finisher for close wins in each event, and both times were season bests. The Schedule Ahead For The Vikings Feb. 7 (Thursday) Men's Basketball hosts Wright State Feb. 8 (Friday) Feb. 9 (Saturday) Men's Tennis hosts St. Francis (PA) Women's Basketball hosts Green Bay CSU Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Men's Basketball hosts Detroit Wrestling hosts Edinboro
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