Sept. 26, 2006
Contact: Josh Rattray
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State dominated both singles and doubles play, winning every match of the day en route to a 7-0 win over IPFW at the Malaga Tennis Center on Tuesday (Sept. 26) afternoon. With the win, head coach Brian Etzkin becomes CSU's all-time men's tennis wins leader with 47 career coaching victories. Etzkin, who already holds the school record for women's tennis wins, and the Vikings are now 2-0 on the season, while IPFW falls to 0-1.
"It was a very exciting win for us," Etzkin said. "Having the most wins in school history is a great accomplishment, but we still have a lot of work to do as a team. Our main goal is to win the league championship."
The match, played at the same time as the CSU-IPFW women's match, was never really in doubt, as the Vikings swept the three doubles matches before beginning singles play. CSU then quickly put the Mastodons away, winning the first four singles matches in straight sets to clinch the victory.
"We came ready to play today," Etzkin said. "We have been playing with a lot of energy lately and we are getting better every time we step on the court."
After sophomore Steven Wipprecht became the fifth straight Viking to win in straight sets, 7-6 (6), 6-2, sophomore Rob West, who is now a team-best 6-1 on the season, finished the sweep with a three-set victory, 6-0, 2-6 (10-7).
In the top half of the lineup, junior Brad Groleski (No. 1 singles) and freshmen Phil Orno (No.2) and Ryan Hamning (No. 3) made quick work of their opponents, with none of them giving up more than three games in any set. Groleski (5-4) moves over the .500 mark with the win while Orno improves to 5-2. Hamning (7-2) leads all CSU men's and women's tennis players in wins.
Junior Dan Singer (4-4) maintained control throughout his match-clinching 6-2, 7-5 win.
The Vikings travel to the Louisville Invitational on Oct. 6-8 before their final dual match of the fall season, Sat. Oct. 14 at home against Youngstown State. The match against the Penguins is slated for a 12:00 p.m. first serve.
SINGLES RESULTS
1. Brad Groleski def. Nabil Mourad Filho - 6-3, 6-1
2. Phil Orno def. Hermann Kuschke - 6-2, 6-3
3. Ryan Hamning def. Renan Constantino - 6-3, 6-2
4. Dan Singer def. Nathan Jones - 6-2, 7-5
5. Steven Wipprecht def. Arturo Salgado - 7-6, (6), 6-2
6. Rob West def. David Lyndall - 6-0, 2-6, (10-7)
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Hamning/Orno def. Constantino/Filho - 8-6
2. Wipprecht/West def. Mitson/Kuschke - 8-4
3. Groleski/Singer def. Jones/Salgado - 8-2
