| CSU Vikings.com | WEB |
March 31, 2008
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Spring Schedule Heats Up. . . The spring sports schedule moves back to Cleveland this week as the baseball and softball teams will each attempt to open their home schedules with multiple home contests. The baseball team is slated to play four of its five games at Pipe Yard Stadium this week, starting with a 4:00 p.m. contest against Eastern Michigan on Tuesday (April 1). After traveling to Ohio for a 6:00 p.m. game on Wednesday (April 2), the Vikings host Wright State for a three-game series over the weekend. The series opens with a 6:00 p.m. game on Friday (April 3) and concludes with a 12:00 noon doubleheader on Saturday (April 4). The softball team has had to cancel its Tuesday (April 1) home doubleheader against Oakland because of a wet field but will play at Robert Morris on Thursday (April 3)and then host Butler for a three-game series over the weekend. CSU will take on the Bulldogs in a 12:00 noon doubleheader on Saturday (April 5) before concluding the series with a single game on Sunday (April 6) at 1:00 p.m. The tennis teams will each play a pair of league contests this weekend. Both teams will be at Wright State on Saturday (April 5) with the men taking on the Raiders at 10:00 a.m. followed by the women at 2:00 p.m. Both squads move on to Butler on Sunday (April 6), with the men facing the Bulldogs at 10:00 a.m. and the women competing at 2:00 p.m. The women's golf team will open the week by competing at the Cincinnati Invitational. The 54-hole tourney will be played with 27 holes on both Monday-Tuesday (March 31-April 1) at the Elks Run Golf Course in Batavia, Ohio. The men's golf team will have a busy weekend, playing in the 36-hole Irish Spring Invitational in South Bend, IN on Saturday (April 5) before heading to Fairborn, Ohio to play in the Wright State Invitational on Sunday-Monday (April 6-7). Dobies Finishes 22nd At NCAA Championships. . . Dobies, who entered Friday's preliminary heat in the 100-yard breastroke with the 13th-fastest time in the nation this year (53.64) swam a near-perfect first 70 yards before encountering difficulties during the final 25 yards to finish 22nd in the 38-swimmer field. The top 16 advanced to the finals with each earning All-America honors. "I am so proud of Jakub and how he performed not only today, but all season long," CSU Director of Competitive Aquatics Wally Morton said. "We've never had a swimmer qualify for the NCAA's as both a freshman and sophomore until he came to CSU and I see great things for him during his final two seasons. Dobies, the only swimmer from a Horizon League school at the championships, opened the race on fire, posting an 11.20 time in the first 25 yards, the second-fastest time among the participants. A 13.40 effort in the second 25 yards raised his time to 24.60 to rank him third among the field at the halfway point. He appeared headed to the finals when he turned in a 14.18 time in the third 25 yards to rank eighth after 75 yards (38.78). But problems coming into the final turn cost Dobie, resulting in a 15.22 time in the final 25 yards. "I'm not exactly sure what happened," Dobies said. "The first 70 yards were perfect but I left my final turn a little short and it cost me." Dobies then finished his championships experience with a 35th place showing in the 200-yard breaststroke on Saturday. Softball Will Try Again To Open Home Schedule. . . After winning two of three games at Wright State over the weekend, the Viking softball team (12-6, 2-1) will attempt to open the home schedule for the second straight week when they host Butler for a three-game series on Saturday-Sunday (April 5-6), playing a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. Action begins both days at 1:00 p.m. at Viking Field. CSU has already had to cancel a home Tuesday doubleheader vs. Oakland but will play a doubleheader at Robert Morris starting at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday (April 3). Last week, the Vikings were slated to play Wright State in Cleveland but moved the games to Fairborn because of wet grounds. "It will be good to play at home," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "We've played pretty well so far this season, but there is nothing like playing at home to really get you playing your best. It was tough moving the home series down to Wright State last weekend but I thought we responded very well to it. To come home with a pair of wins is a good start to our league season." Playing as the home team in all three games, the Vikings waited until the bottom of the seventh inning to rally for a pair of 4-3 wins on Saturday before falling, 4-0 on Sunday. A bases-loaded throwing error with no outs led to the game-tying and game-winning runs scoring in the first game while Haley Keller drove home a pair of runs with a one-out double to win the nightcap. The victories marked the second and third time that CSU rallied to win a game in the bottom of the seventh and the third and fourth come-from-behind wins this season. Christa Coppus continues to lead the Vikings with a .386 batting average, including a four-for-10 effort (.400) in the three games last week. She also has a team-high 15 RBI and five doubles. Sophomore Amanda Macenko pitched all 21 innings last week to improve to 9-5 overall with a 1.67 ERA. In her last four starts, she has struck out 32 and walked just one. Baseball Plays Four of Five At Home This Week. . . Cleveland State (7-9, 2-1 HL) is slated to open its home season this week when the Vikings play four of their five scheduled games at the Pipe Yard. CSU opens the week with a Tuesday (April 1) afternoon contest against Eastern Michigan at 4:00 p.m. On Wednesday, April 2, the Vikings travel to Ohio for a 6:00 p.m. contest and will then host Wright State on Friday (April 5) and Saturday (April 6) for a three-game Horizon League series. Friday's contest is slated for 6:00 p.m., while Saturday's twinbill will begin at 12:00 p.m. "We didn't play our best last week, but to come away with two wins feels good," head coach Kevin Kocks said. "We need to get back to playing within our system in order to keep having success. We are looking forward to finally being able to play at home this week." The Vikings opened league play by taking two of three games at Valparaiso over the weekend. The Crusaders won the opener, 7-0, as CSU was limited to just four hits. However, Cleveland State rebounded to win the final two games of the series, 4-2, in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, and 7-5 on Sunday, March 30. Brian Long pitched a complete-game, allowing two unearned runs on four hits, to improve to 3-1 this season. Josh Hungerman and John Foco combined to go 7-for-9 with three runs and three RBI, while Anthony Sambula worked 4.1 innings in relief, allowing just one hit to earn his first career win in the series finale. Long continues to lead the pitching staff with a 2.00 earned run average and 24 strikeouts, while Josh Geric is hitting a team-leading .348. Kyle Bischof and Alex Kerins have combined for seven home runs and 22 runs batted in. Wright State & Butler Up Next For Men's Tennis. . . The Cleveland State men's tennis team (11-4) will travel to Wright State on Saturday, April 5 to begin the Horizon League portion of their schedule. The contest is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. The Vikings will then travel Butler for a match on Sunday, April 6 at 10:00 a.m. "We were well-rested and energized coming into our last non-conference match," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "This is the fourth Atlantic-10 team we have defeated this season, and that makes us excited about our chances against Horizon League opponents coming up." The men's team completed its non-conference schedule at Dayton on Saturday, March 29. The squad swept Dayton, winning every match in both doubles and singles competition. Sophomore Phil Orno and freshman Robert Fox lead the team with 17 victories. Orno has won 12 consecutive singles matches and is 17-9 at No. 1 singles. Fox is 17-7 at No. 6 singles and has won nine consecutive singles matches. Sophomore Ryan Hamning is 12-11 at No. 2 singles, while freshman Chris Klepatz is 13-10 at No. 3 singles and Rob West is 9-16 at No. 4 singles. Senior Brad Groleski is 10-7 at No. 5 singles to round out CSU's lineup. Women's Tennis Starts League Play vs. Wright State & Butler. . . The Cleveland State women's tennis team (12-5) heads to Fairborn, Ohio for a match against Wright State on Saturday, April 5 at 2:00 p.m. The following day, the Vikings travel to Butler for a 2:00 p.m. match. "This was a big conference win to avenge our loss at Detroit last week," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "This puts us in a good position going into Wright State and Butler." The Vikings won their only match of the week, defeating Youngstown State, 5-2, to improve to 1-1 in the Horizon League. Freshmen Jackie Tabb (7-16) and Sanda Bjelan (18-9) won at Nos. 3 and 4 singles respectively. Tabb defeated Emily Thayer, 6-3, 6-3, while Bjelan won 6-1, 6-0 over Irena Lanc. Sophomores Charlotte Gibbons (13-5) and Denisa Muntean (18-9) won at Nos. 5 and 6 singles to clinch the victory. Freshman Melissa Holzinger (12- 15) and senior Jenn Myers (13-12) complete the Viking lineup. Men's Golf To Play In Tourneys At Notre Dame & Wright State. . . Cleveland State will play in a pair of tournaments this week, beginning with the 36-hole Irish Spring Invitational on Saturday, April 5. The tournament will be played at the par-71, 7,020-yard Warren Golf Course. The Vikings will then trek to southern Ohio to compete in the 54-hole Wright State Invitational on Sunday (April 6) and Monday (April 7) at the par-72, 7,007-yard Greene Country Club in Fairborn, Ohio. "This is a big week for us as we continue to build toward the Horizon League Championship," head coach Steve Weir. "We have put together some good rounds this spring, but we need to have a total team effort for 54 holes. We started to get something going in the final round at Indiana, but the bad weather rolled in and forced us off the course." CSU played in a pair of tournaments last week, placing second at the 36-hole Butler Spring Invitational (March 24-25) and tying for seventh place at the rain shortened 36-hole Indiana Hoosier Invitational (March 28-29). Jake Scott led the Vikings in both tournaments, placing second at Butler with rounds of 71-75 (146) en route to Horizon League Golfer of the Week honors. He came back to tie for sixth place at the Hoosier Invitational, carding rounds of 73-72 (145). Women's Golf Plays At Cincinnati Invitational. . . Cleveland State will travel to southern Ohio to compete in the 54-hole Cincinnati Invitational on Monday (March 31) and Tuesday (April 1) at the par-71, 6,053-yard Elks Run Golf Course in Batavia. The competing teams are scheduled to play 27 holes each day. "This will be a good test for us against a good field," head coach Steve Weir said. "We have been playing well this spring and need to continue to hit the ball well and roll it well on the greens. If we can continue to have four players in the 70's and low 80's, we will be in good shape." The Vikings are coming off a fourth place finish at the 36-hole Butler Spring Invitational played at the par-72, 6,290-yard Prestwick Country Club in Avon, Ind. CSU shot a 339 in the opening round on March 24 and lowered that by one stroke in the final round (March 25) to move up one place. Katie Broere carded a 36-hole total of 163 (82-81) to finish tied for eighth, while Laren Beese fired back-to-back rounds of 83 to finish tied for 13th at 166. Viking High Fives Jakub Dobies: The record-setting sophomore swimmer ended his season over the weekend by finishing 22nd in the 100 breast at the NCAA's, the top finish ever by a Viking at the NCAA Championship meet. Anthony Sambula: The baseball freshman earned his first career win by working 4.1 innings of relief, allowing just one hit, in the series finale at Valparaiso. Jake Scott: The men's golf junior earned his fifth top-10 finish of the season by tying for sixth place at the Hoosier Invitational. Haley Keller: The Viking junior has done it all from both parts of the plate. Offensively, her two-run double provided the game-tying and game-winning run over Wright State on Saturday. Defensively, she has not made an error in 101 chances. The Schedule Ahead For The Vikings March 31 (Monday) April 1 (Tuesday) Women's Golf at Cincinnati Invitational April 2 (Wednesday) April 3 (Thursday) April 4 (Friday)
Baseball hosts Wright State April 5 (Saturday)
Men's Tennis at Wright State Baseball hosts Wright State (2) Softball hosts Butler (2) Women's Tennis at Wright State Men's Golf at Irish Spring Invitational April 6 (Sunday) Softball hosts Butler Women's Tennis at Butler Men's Golf at Wright State Invitational
|
  
|
|||||||||||||
