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April 14, 2008
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Busy Week Ahead For The Vikings. . . CSU Went 11-3 With One Golf Tourney Victory Last Week Coming off one of the most successful weeks this season, all six Viking spring sports will be in action this week. Last week, the five CSU sports in action combined to post an 11-3 record with men's golf also winning the team title at the Wright State Invitational. The baseball team, which went 4-2 last week, will play six of its seven games at The Pipe Yard this week. CSU hosts Kent State on Tuesday (April 15) at 6:00 p.m., travels to Niagara on Wednesday (April 16) and hosts Tiffin on Friday (April 18) at 4:00 p.m. The weekend has the Vikings playing 1:00 p.m. league doubleheaders against Milwaukee on Saturday (April 19) and Butler on Sunday (April 20). The softball team, which is in second place in the Horizon League, will play five of its seven contests on the road. CSU travels to Youngstown State for a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday (April 15) and hosts Saint Francis on Thursday (April 17) at 3:00 p.m. at Viking Field. Cleveland State closes the week with a three-game series at UIC over the weekend, playing a doubleheader on Saturday (April 19) and a single game on Sunday (April 20). Fresh off earning the team title at the Wright State Invitational last week, the men's golf team will be in Detroit for the Titan Invitational. The 54-hole tourney will be played April 18-19 with 36 holes being played on April 18 and the final round on April 19. The women's golf team concludes play at the Ball State Invitational on Monday (April 14). The Vikings were in 11th place after the opening round on Sunday. The tennis teams conclude their regular season this week with a pair of matches on the road. Both teams will be at Valparaiso on Saturday (April 19) for a 10:00 a.m. contests and then head to UIC on Sunday (April 20) with the women playing at 10:00 a.m. and the men at 1:00 p.m. Softball Takes To The Road. . . Second-Place Vikings Play Five League Games Away From Home The Viking softball team (18-9, 6-2 HL) continues its busy schedule with seven games this week, five of which will be played away from home. The week opens with a 3:00 p.m. Horizon League doubleheader at Youngstown on Tuesday (April 15). CSU then returns home for a mid-week non-conference doubleheader against Saint Francis on Thursday (April 17) at 3:00 p.m. at Viking Field. The busy schedule concludes with a three-game series at UIC over the weekend, beginning with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (April 19) followed by a single game at 12:00 noon on Sunday (April 20). Cleveland State begins the week with an 18-9 overall record and in a second place tie with Valparaiso in the Horizon League standings with a 6-2 record. Wright State (8-2) is in first place with UIC in fourth (7-3). "I know that it sounds redundant, but this is another important week for us," CSU head coach Angie Nicholson said. "We've won four straight league games to put ourselves into a position to challenge for the title. Now we need to go out and play every game like we are capable of doing. "I've seen some good things the last couple of weeks. Our pitching has been outstanding, our fielding has improved greatly and we are starting to hit the ball like we are capable of doing. If we can continue to improve, then this could be a very good couple of weeks for us." Amanda Macenko was the winner in both league wins against Detroit last week, allowing just one run in 14 innings to improve to 13-8 on the year. The sophomore leads the league in seven stat categories, including wins, appearances (25), ERA (1.33), opposing batting average (.190), innings pitched (142.1), strikeouts (151) and strikeouts looking (45). Junior Christa Coppus had another great week at the plate, hitting .455 (5-11) in the four games to raise her season batting average to .410 to rank third in the Horizon League in hitting. Baseball Plays Six Of Seven At Home This Week. . . Vikings 4-5 In Horizon League Play The Cleveland State baseball team (12-14, 4-5 HL) continues a busy mid-season stretch by playing seven games in six days this week, including six games at home. The Vikings open the week with a 6:00 p.m. contest against Kent State at the Pipe Yard on Tuesday (April 15) before traveling to Niagara for a 4:00 p.m. game on Wednesday (April 16). After hosting Tiffin on Friday (April 18) at 4:00 p.m., the Vikings will host a pair of Horizon League doubleheaders beginning with two games against Milwaukee on Saturday (April 19) at 1:00 p.m. CSU concludes its busy week with a doubleheader versus Butler on Sunday (April 20) with the first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. "We have another busy week ahead of us and it is going to be important to play well and execute our system," head coach Kevin Kocks said. "We haven't been as consistent as we should be offensively or defensively this season and we are still growing and maturing as a team." The Vikings went 4-2 last week, earning wins at Eastern Michigan and Canisius and at home against Malone. CSU then went 1-2 against Milwaukee in a Horizon League series that was moved to UIC's Les Miller Field due to inclement weather in Milwaukee. CSU's offense appears to have gotten on track, as it scored 15 runs against Eastern Michigan and Canisius and then tied a school-record with 24 runs in a 24-18 win over Milwaukee in the second game of Friday's (April 11) doubleheader. CSU batted .342 as a team last week with 18 doubles, eight homeruns and 66 runs batted in. Freshman Adam Heideman was CSU's hitting star, going 12-for-21 (.571) with 10 runs, two doubles, one homerun and five runs batted in. Bobby Cash hit .391 with five runs and five RBI in the six games, while Alex Kerins drove in 17 runs and scored 12 times. Men's Tennis Completes Horizon League Play. . . The Cleveland State men's tennis team (14-5) heads to Valparaiso, Ind. for a match against the Crusaders on Saturday, April 20 at 10:00 a.m. The Vikings travel to UIC the following day. The UIC match is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. "It was nice to see Brad go out with a win in his final home match as a Viking," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We played solid doubles and Phil and Robert were able to continue their win streaks. We still have some work to do this week to prepare for Valparaiso and UIC." The men defeated Green Bay 6-1 on Saturday, before sweeping Youngstown State 7-0 on Sunday. The victories improved the squad to 3-1 in Horizon League action. Sophomore Phil Orno has a 22-9 record at No. 1 singles, while classmate Ryan Hamning has a 15-13 record at No. 2 singles. Senior Brad Groleski is 13-8 at No. 3 singles while freshman Chris Klepatz has gone 14-12 at No. 4 singles. Junior Rob West and freshman Robert Fox are 12-17 and 21-7, respectively, to wrap up the bottom of the Viking lineup. Orno has won 15 consecutive singles matches, while Fox has won 12 straight. Women's Tennis Travels To UIC & Valpo. . . The Cleveland State women's tennis team (15-6) wraps up its regular season Horizon League schedule when the Vikings travel to Valparaiso on Saturday, April 19 at 10:00 a.m. and UIC on Sunday, April 20 at 10:00 a.m. "We had some great wins this past weekend," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "It was nice to play in front of a large crowd this weekend and have the opportunity to honor our four seniors for Senior Day." The Vikings went 2-0 for the weekend, sweeping both Green Bay and Milwaukee, putting CSU at 4-2 against Horizon League opponents. Freshmen Melissa Holzinger (15-17) and Jackie Tabb (10-17) form the top of the Viking lineup. Senior Jenn Myers is 15-13 at No. 3 singles, while freshman Sanda Bjelan is 22-9 at No. 4 singles. Sophomores Charlotte Gibbons and Denisa Muntean hold down the bottom part of the lineup, with 16-5 and 20-10 records at No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively. Gibbons has won six consecutive singles matches for the Vikings. Men's Golf Travels To Detroit Invitational. . . Cleveland State is back in action on Friday and Saturday (April 18-19) when the Vikings travel to Plymouth, Mich. for the 54-hole Detroit Invitational. The two-day event is scheduled to take place at the par-72, 6,783-yard, Golden Fox Golf Course. "I feel that we are peaking at the right time of the season," head coach Steve Weir said. "We didn't play our best golf in the first round at Wright State, but I was extremely proud of how the team responded to close out the tournament. I think we proved that we can compete with any team in the league and that will be a big mental boost when we play in the league tournament." After finishing third of nine teams at the Notre Dame Invitational on April 5, the Vikings posted rounds of 301-284-290 to claim their first title of the season at the Wright State Invitational on April 6-7 at the par-72, 7,007-yard Greene Country Club. CSU trailed Dayton by two shots entering the final round, but picked up nine shots on the Flyers to win by seven strokes. It was the first team championship for CSU since the Vikings won last season's Butler Spring Invitational. Senior Doug Barber earned medalist honors with rounds of 73-67-74 for a two-under-par 212, four shots better than teammate Jake Scott, who carded rounds of 73-73-70 (216). It was the second time in his career that Barber won a tournament and the first since claiming the 2005 Horizon League Championship as a freshman. Scott, who has six top-10 finishes this season, continues to lead the team and is ranked fourth in the Horizon League with a 72.5 scoring average. Women's Golf Competing At Ball State Invitational. . . Cleveland State is back in action for the final time before the Horizon League Championship when the Vikings compete in the 36-hole Ball State Cardinal Invitational on Sunday and Monday (April 14-15). The event will be contested at the par-70, 5,900-yard, Delaware Country Club. 'We have had some good practices since our last event and we are going to use the Ball State Invitational as a tune-up for the league championship," head coach Steve Weir said. "We had a disappointing finish at our last event, but I think we have got some things straightened out since then." CSU has been out of action since finishing ninth of 10 teams at the Cincinnati Invitational (March 31-April 1). The Vikings seemed to be in good position, shooting rounds of 335 and 333 to open the tournament and sit in fourth place. However, CSU carded a 353, their highest total of the spring, in the final round to finish ninth. Junior Mallory Wyderka (80-80-88) carded a 54-hole total of 248 to finish tied for 15th, while sophomore Katie Broere added rounds of 81-83-86 (250) to tie for 18th place. Viking High Fives Phil Orno: The men's tennis sophomore won both of his No. 1 singles matches to improve to 22-9 this year. He also paired with classmate Ryan Hamning to win both of their No. 1 doubles matches against Green Bay and Youngstown State last weekend. Doug Barber: The senior won the Wright State Invitational for his second career victory and first since winning the Horizon League Championship as a freshman. Baseball Offense: CSU tied a school-record with 24 runs in the second game of a doubleheader against Milwaukee on Friday. Brittany Bate: The softball freshman pitcher threw a six-hitter at Eastern Michigan to improve to 3-0. The Schedule Ahead For The Vikings April 14 (Monday) April 15 (Tuesday) Softball at Youngstown (2) April 16 (Wednesday) April 17 (Thursday) April 18 (Friday) Men's Golf at Titan Invitational April 19 (Saturday) Men's Tennis at Valparaiso Softball at UIC (2) Baseball hosts Milwaukee (2) Men's Golf at Titan Invitational April 20 (Sunday) Softball at UIC Men's Tennis at UIC Baseball hosts Butler (2)
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