Oct. 12, 2007
Contact: Brian McCann
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Ryan Hamning won a pair of singles matches to advance to the semi-finals in the "A" Singles flight and senior Brad Groleski returned to the lineup for the first time since last spring, splitting a pair of "C" Singles Flight matches to highlight Cleveland State's play on the opening day of the Louisville Invitational.
"Our performance today could have been much better, but there were still some very bright spots," CSU head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Ryan Hamning played as well today than he has at any time since he came to CSU. He was locked in on every point and refused to let his opponents get an opportunity to beat him. It will be interesting to see what he can do in the semi-finals tomorrow."
Haming, one of three Vikings in the "A" Singles bracket, knocked off Morehead State's Greg Johnstone, 6-4, 6-3, in the opening round and came back later in the evening to rout Austin Peay's Leo Locatelli, 6-2, 6-2.
CSU's Phil Orno and Rob West each dropped a pair of "A" Singles matches to be eliminated from the bracket.
Freshman Chris Klepatz was the only Vikings in the "B" Singles Bracket to win his first round match, upending Leandro Tolsa-Zenkeusen from Austin Peay, 6-0, 6-2 before falling in the second round to Xavier's Ralees Ismael, 6-2, 6-3, to be eliminated from the bracket.
Robert Fox and Steven Wipprecht each lost their first round match and will play a consolation match on Sunday.
Groleski's victory was the highlight for CSU in the "C" Singles flight. After sitting out all summer and most of the fall with a back injury, Groleski returned to the court today to come back from a set down to win a three-set tiebreaker over Toledo's Wade Ward. Groleski dropped the first set, 3-6, before coming back to claim the second and third sets in the tiebreaker, 7-6(4) and 7-6(8). A second round loss to Xavier's Antohony Palmenter however eliminated Groleski from the bracket.
"It was good to see Brad out on the court today," Etzkin said. "This was a great opportunity for him to see a little tournament action and test out how his back is going to respond."
The lone Viking win in doubles play came in the "A" Flight where Phil Orno and Ryan Hamning edged Souza/Knue from Illinois, 8-4, to advance to the semi-finals tomorrow.
Play continues in the tourney on Saturday morning and concludes on Sunday.
Louisville Invitational
First Day Results
"A" Singles
Ryan Hamning (CSU) def. Greg Johnstone (Morehead State), 6-4, 6-3
Ryan Hamning (CSU) def. Leo Locatelli (Austin Peay), 6-2, 6-2
(Haming advances to semi-finals on Saturday)
Alex Bas (Eastern Kentucky) def. Phil Orno (CSU), 6-3, 6-3
Lucas De Brito (Austin Peay) def. Phil Orno (CSU), 2-6, 6-3, 10-6
(Orno eliminated from bracket)
Santiago Gruter (Indiana) def. Rob West (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
Jeff Rutherford (Eastern Illinois) def. Rob West (CSU), 6-4, 6-3
(West eliminated from bracket)
"B" Singles
Chris Klepatz (CSU) def. Leandro Tolsa-Zenkeusen (Austin Peay), 6-0, 6-2
Ralees Ismael (Xavier) def. Chris Klepatz (CSU), 6-2, 6-3
(Klepatz eliminated from bracket)
Suen Burus (Toledo) def. Robert Fox (CSU), 6-3, 7-6(4)
Xavier Riart-Ferrer (Illinois State) def. Steven Wipprecht (CSU), 6-0, 6-1
(Fox & Wipprecht to play consolation matches on Saturday)
"C" Singles
Sean Bush (Eastern Illinois) def. Aris Spirtos (CSU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
Adam Schaefer (Xavier) def. Adam Perkins (CSU), 6-0, 6-0
(Spirtos & Perkins to play consolation matches on Saturday)
Brad Groleski (CSU) def. Wade Ward (Toledo), 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(8)
Anthony Palmenter (Xavier) def. Brad Groleski (CSU), 7-6(5), 6-4
(Groleski eliminated from bracket)
"A" Doubles
Haming/Orno (CSU) def. Souza/Knue (Illinois), 8-4
(Hamning Orno advance to semi-finals on Saturday)
"B" Doubles
Miller/Miller (Toledo) def. West/Fox (CSU), 8-6
(West/Fox to play consolation match on Sunday)
"C" Doubles
Gama/Vogt (Eastern Illinois) def. Perkins/Tyler Sonkin (Toledo), 8-6
Tallent/La Puente (Austin Peay) def. Spirtos/Klepatz (CSU), 9-8(4)
(both CSU doubles teams to play consolation match on Sunday)
