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Feb. 9, 2005
Setting the Scene: The Cleveland State women's tennis team hosts Oakland on Friday (Feb. 11) beginning at 6:00 p.m. at River Oaks Racquet Club in Rocky River. The men's team was originally slated to play at Ohio State on Friday, but the match has been postponed due to scheduling issues. The match will be made up at a later date.
Previewing the Vikings: The Cleveland State women's team holds a 5-4 overall record after going 2-2 to open up the spring portion of the season. The Vikings dropped a pair of matches to Ohio State and Dayton before tallying 7-0 wins over St. Bonaventure and Robert Morris. Sophomores Marcella Capozziello and Morgan Ungerott have both been strong for CSU in the second half of the season, with each notching three wins. The men's squad touts a 4-6 overall mark and an 0-1 Horizon League record. After dropping a pair of tough road losses to Michigan State and Xavier, CSU rallied back from a 3-0 deficit against St. Bonaventure for a 4-3 win. Senior Eric Winn has scored a pair of individual wins this spring.
Previewing the Golden Grizzlies: Oakland opens up the spring portion of their season against the Vikings after dropping all four of their contests during the fall. The Golden Grizzlies lost a 5-2 decision to Horizon League foe Detroit in their last match. Lisa Pellafone and Teuta Lulgjuraj both picked up wins at No. 1 and 2 singles for OU.
Dayton Tops Vikings in Columbus: Viking seniors Eric Winn and Paul Haley scored a strong 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles against Dayton, but Cleveland State could not take advantage in the singles matches as the Flyers topped CSU, 7-0, at the Racquet Club of Columbus on Feb. 8. Winn and Haley outplayed Dayton's Tom Murphy and James O'Connell at the first pairing, but the Flyers claimed the No. 2 and 3 matches for the doubles point. After that, CSU could not get going in the singles matches, as Dayton claimed six for the win.
Women's Team Handles St. Bonaventure, Robert Morris: Cleveland State held little back when they took on St. Bonaventure and Robert Morris on Jan. 30 at River Oaks Racquet Club, disposing of both teams by 7-0 scores. The Vikings won every match on the day, taking all but one in two sets. Sophomore No. 3 Morgan Ungerott rallied back from a 5-2 deficit in the first set against Stephanie Fosnight of St. Bonaventure, to take a 7-5 set win before claiming the second set, 6-1. She then easily handled Sarah Hancock of Robert Morris in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. Sophomore No. 1 Sarah Galon won a tough-fought battle with SBU's Ann Perevenzetseva. All three sets went into tiebreakers, but Galon came out on top in two for the 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 13-11 win. She also tallied a 6-3, 6-4 win over Renee James of RMU. Senior No. 5 Rebekah Bicksler was solid as well, shutting out Sarah Costello of St. Bonaventure, 6-0, 6-0, while allowing Lauren Dominijanni on Robert Morris only two games (6-1, 6-1).
Men Rally Back to Beat Bonnies: After trailing 3-0 to St. Bonaventure, the Cleveland State men's team grinded out four straight wins to take a 4-3 victory at the River Oaks Racquet Club on Jan. 30. The Vikings found themselves in a 3-0 hole early on after dropping the doubles point and their first two singles matches. Sophomore Dan Singer, however, got things rolling in the Vikings' favor, winning the No. 5 singles match in three before senior No. 2 Eric Winn claimed a three-set victory. Junior No. 4 Jay Tee added a three set victory of his own to set up senior Jordan Reynolds in the deciding match. Reynolds gutted out a 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 nail-biter at No. 6 singles after being down 5-1 in the third set, rallying off six straight games to claim the set, match and the victory for the Vikings.
Aloha from Cleveland: You would think that a native of Hawaii would find the weather in Cleveland a little less than inviting. But sophomore No. 1 Sarah Galon has thrived on the shores of Lake Erie, as the Waianae, Ha. native is tied for the team lead with seven wins. Last season, Galon had one of the best first years of any Cleveland State player, being named the Horizon League's Newcomer of Year and to the all-league first team after leading the Vikings with an 18-9 record as the No. 1.
Road Trip Anyone?: The Cleveland State tennis teams will be spending a lot of time away from Cleveland for the next two months as the Vikings will see playing time at home only once in February and March. CSU will play a total of 19 matches on the road this spring, with all of them being played from Feb. 19 to April 2, while playing only Oakland and Chicago State at home on March 5 during that span. The Vikings will somewhat make up for the travels at the end of the season, however, playing their last seven contests before the Horizon League Championships at Malaga Tennis Center.
The Coaches: Brian Etzkin is in his third season at the helm of the Viking tennis teams, holding a combined record of 43-90 (26-45 men, 17-45 women). He has been given the task reviving the men's tennis program, which returned in 2000 after an eight-year hiatus. Prior to his arrival at Cleveland State, Etzkin spent two years as an assistant at Western Illinois before being named an assistant coach at Michigan State. He is assisted by David Howell, a native of Solon, who joined the program after spending a season as interim head coach at Allegheny College. A standout player for Allegheny from '96-00, Howell served as assistant coach at St. Lawrence University from 2001-02. Also assisting as a volunteer is Teresa Boylan, who returns to Cleveland State after serving as head coach from 1997-2001.
Next Up: Cleveland State is on the road next weekend as both men's and women's teams head to Toledo on Feb. 19 for a 2:00 p.m. start with the Rockets. The women's team will then head north to East Lansing, Mich. on Feb. 20 for a 4:00 p.m. battle with Michigan State.
