Feb. 5, 2008

Contact: Jessica Gerich

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Cleveland State Men's Tennis
vs. Duquesne
Date: February 8, 2008
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: River Oaks Racquet Club - Rocky River, Ohio

vs. St. Francis (PA)
Date: February 9, 2008
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: River Oaks Racquet Club - Rocky River, Ohio

Cleveland State Women's Tennis
vs. St. Francis (PA)
Date: February 9, 2008
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: River Oaks Racquet Club - Rocky River, Ohio

FIRST SERVE: The Cleveland State men's tennis team (4-2) continues its spring season this weekend when it hosts Duquesne on Friday, Feb. 8 at 7:00 p.m. The men and women will both host St. Francis (PA) on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 1:00 p.m. All matches will take place at River Oaks Racquet Club in Rocky River.

PREVIEWING THE VIKING MEN: The Viking men (4-2) came out on top in two tight matches against St. Bonaventure on Saturday, Feb. 2 and Niagara on Sunday, Feb. 3, defeating both teams 4-3. Freshman Robert Fox clinched both matches with wins at No. 5 and 6 singles. The squad is led by sophomores Ryan Hamning and Phil Orno. A second team All-Horizon League selection last season, Hamning has a 10-7 record, predominately at No. 1 singles, while Orno, an all-league first team selection has a 9-9 record at No. 2 singles. Junior Rob West has gone 4-12 at No. 3 singles, while freshman Chris Klepatz is 6-7 at No. 4 singles. Freshman Robert Fox and Groleski are 9-6 and 4-4, respectively, to wrap up the bottom of the Viking lineup.

PREVIEWING THE VIKING WOMEN: The women moved to 3-2 on the season after blanking St. Bonaventure, 7-0 on Saturday, Feb. 2 and defeating Niagara 6-1 on Sunday, Feb. 3. Freshmen Melissa Holzinger (6-10) and Jackie Tabb (3-12) form the top of the Viking lineup. Senior Jenn Myers is 8-7 at No. 3 singles, while freshman Sanda Bjelan is 9-6 at No. 4 singles. Sophomores Denisa Muntean and Charlotte Gibbons hold down the bottom part of the lineup, with 8-7 and 6-2 records at No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively. Holzinger, Bjelan, and Gibbons have all posted three consecutive singles victories.

THE HEAD COACH
Brian Etzkin (Southern Illinois, `98)
Men's Record: 67-65
Women's Record: 62-78
Brian Etzkin, CSU's all-time coaching wins leader, has led both the men's and women's teams to five straight seasons with 10 wins or more. Nine Vikings have garnered All-Horizon League recognition under Etzkin's tutelage and two players have earned Horizon League Newcomer of the Year honors. Etzkin guided both the men's and women's teams to new heights last season, with the women having their best tournament finish in program history, (third) while the men tied their best tournament finish in school history (third).

ETZKIN ON THE MEN: "The team has been mentally tough, finding ways to win while they are playing great but also when they are not playing their best. It's a good sign when you find ways to win while you aren't playing your best". Our Saturday match will be against St. Francis who we beat 7-0 last year. We have been working hard on doubles and will continue to put a little extra emphasis on it. We've had to win two of the last three matches without the doubles point and that isn't good enough. The bright side is that it took us until the end of the year, last year, to win a match without the doubles point."

ETZKIN ON THE WOMEN: "The women had a very successful weekend beating St. Bonaventure and Niagara 7-0 and 6-1, respectively. It was very encouraging to win some doubles points. We have been working extremely hard on doubles and we are just beginning to see the fruits of our labors. In addition, we did it with a variety of different combinations. We're not anywhere near where we will need to be with doubles, but we are starting to make progress."

BACK FROM WHERE THEY LEFT OFF: Sophomores Ryan Hamning and Phil Orno, all-league selections following their freshman campaigns, have picked up where they left off last season. Hamning boasts a 10-7 record, predominately at No. 1 singles, while Orno is 9-9, mainly at No. 2 singles. Hamning and Orno were the only two players representing CSU at the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championships, which were held in Tulsa, Okla., in the fall. Both were selected to play singles and doubles at the ITA Regional Tournament.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: The women's team has posted a 27-20 doubles record this season. Senior Christine Vogelgesang has the best doubles record for the women's team, going 9-2. Sophomore Charlotte Gibbons and freshman Jackie Tabb form the women's No. 1 duo, owning a 2-2 record, including a victory over Michigan State's No.1 doubles team. Sophomores Ryan Hamning and Phil Orno are 8-5 at No. 1 doubles, the best mark for the men's squad in doubles play.

THEY HAVE BEEN ROBBED: Junior Rob West and Rob Fox form the men's No. 2 doubles team, going 4-5 for the season. The duo defeated Michigan State's No. 2 team 8-5, which was CSU's only victory against the Big Ten team.

SENIOR STRENGTH: Senior Jenn Myers leads the seniors on the women's squad with eight victories, predominately at No. 3 singles. Christine Vogelgesang leads the team in doubles wins, with a 9-2 record, going 4-1 with Myers and 5-1 with Lindsey Sellers. Morgan Ungerott, playing mostly doubles, has compiled a 4-5 doubles record. Brad Groleski, the lone senior on the men's squad, has a 4-4 singles record and is 3-3 at No. 3 doubles.

TABB TABBED FOR LEAGUE HONORS: Freshman Jackie Tabb received Horizon League Tennis Athlete of the Week honors on Jan. 23, after defeating IPFW's Stacy Lish, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles and going 2-0 at No. 1 doubles with sophomore Charlotte Gibbons. The duo earned wins over IPFW and Michigan State during the spring season opening weekend.

FRESHMEN IMPORTS: Freshmen Sanda Bjelan and Robert Fox have compiled the best record among CSU newcomers. Bjelan, a Bad Ragaz, Switzerland product, and Fox, a Rotterdam, Netherlands native, have a 9-6 record. Bjelan owns a 5-6 doubles record while Fox owns a 4-7 doubles records, predominately at No. 2 doubles.

HAMNING IT UP: Sophomore Ryan Hamning was named Horizon League Tennis Athlete of the Week on Jan. 31, after defeating Chris Herrlinger of Xavier, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. Hamning, who is now 10-7 on the season at No. 1 singles. Teamed with classmate Phil Orno to win their No. 1 doubles match against Xavier.

CLOSE CALLS: Three of the six matches played this spring by the men's team have been decided by a 4-3 score, all of which have been Viking victories. The first 4-3 decision was clinched by senior Brad Groleski in dramatic fashion, winning his match 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 6 singles to decide the match against Xavier. Robert Fox clinched the following two matches decided by a 4-3 score.

THE CLINCHER: Freshman Robert Fox has clinched the last two matches for the Vikings. Fox first clinched the match against St. Bonaventure on Saturday, Feb. 2, winning 7-6 (10), 6-3 at No. 5 singles. He closed out the match against Niagara on Sunday, Feb. 3, winning 6-2, 6-0 at No. 6 singles to wrap up the victory.

UP NEXT: The women's team visits Dayton on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 3:00 p.m.