Feb. 12, 2008

Contact: Jessica Gerich

Complete Release in PDF Format

CLEVELAND STATE WOMEN'S TENNIS
at Dayton
Date: February, 16, 2008
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Dayton, Ohio

FIRST SERVE: The Cleveland State women's tennis team (4-2) will look to win its fourth straight match when the Vikings visit Dayton on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 3:00 p.m. The men's team is out of action this week.

PREVIEWING THE VIKING MEN: The Viking men (6-2) stretched their win streak to five straight by defeating Duquesne and St. Francis (PA) over the weekend. The squad is led by sophomores Phil Orno and Ryan Hamning. A first team All-Horizon League selection last season, Orno has an 11-9 record, predominately at No. 1 singles, while Hamning, an all-league second team selection has a 10-8 record at No. 2 singles. Freshman Chris Klepatz is 8-7 at No. 3 singles while junior Rob West has gone 5-13 at No. 4 singles. Freshman Robert Fox and senior Brad Groleski are 10-7 and 6-4, respectively, to wrap up the bottom of the Viking lineup.

PREVIEWING THE VIKING WOMEN: The women improved to 4-2 on the season after sweeping St. Francis (PA), 7-0 on Saturday, Feb. 9. The Vikings won all but one game against St. Francis. Freshmen Melissa Holzinger (7-10) and Jackie Tabb (4-12) form the top of the Viking lineup. Senior Jenn Myers is 8-7 at No. 3 singles, while freshman Sanda Bjelan is 10-6 at No. 4 singles. Sophomores Denisa Muntean and Charlotte Gibbons hold down the bottom part of the lineup, with 9-7 and 7-2 records at No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively. Holzinger, Bjelan, and Gibbons have all posted four consecutive singles victories.

THE HEAD COACH
Brian Etzkin (Southern Illinois, `98)
Men's Record: 69-65
Women's Record: 63-78
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 men are idle this week. Their next matches are on Friday, Feb 22 vs. Toledo and Sunday, Feb 24 vs. Robert Morris. Toledo beat us 7-0 last year but we had some very close matches. We also have some direct wins over them from earlier this fall. This will be a battle to the finish with northern Ohio pride on the line. Both Toledo and Cleveland State have beaten Duquesne and Xavier while losing to Michigan State. It should be a very good match. We beat Robert Morris last year, 7-0, however, they pushed us in several spots. We will not be taking them lightly."

ETZKIN ON THE WOMEN: "The women's tennis team plays this weekend at Dayton. The UD team is under the direction of new head coach Linday O'Keefe. Dayton has been an interesting team for us to play. Since I have been here we have picked up one point per year against them. They beat us 7-0 in 2003, 6-1 in 2004, 5-2 in 2005, 4-3 in 2006, and finally we beat them 4-3 last year. We would love to be able to keep the trend going but we know they are a good team. They have already beaten IPFW and Green Bay, teams we are very familiar with."

BACK FROM WHERE THEY LEFT OFF: Sophomores Phil Orno and Ryan Hamning, all-league selections following their freshman campaigns, have picked up where they left off last season. Orno boasts an 11-9 record, predominately at No. 1 singles, while Hamning is 10-8, 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.

THEY HAVE BEEN ROBBED: Junior Rob West and Rob Fox form the men's No. 2 doubles team, going 6-5 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.

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 has a 10-6 record while Fox, a Rotterdam, Netherlands native, has a 10-7 record. Bjelan owns a 5-6 doubles record while Fox has tallied a 6-7 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: Four of the eight 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, as he won 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.

HOLZINGER AND ORNO RECEIVE LEAGUE HONORS: Freshman Melissa Holzinger and sophomore Phil Orno swept the Horizon League Tennis Athlete of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 4. Both Holzinger and Orno won both of their No. 1 singles matches against St. Bonaventure and Niagara. It marked the third consecutive week that at least one member of the CSU tennis team garnered player of the week honors.

THE CLINCHER: Freshman Robert Fox has clinched 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 men's team hosts Toledo on Friday, Feb. 22 at 7:00 p.m. and the women's team will host Akron on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 1:00 p.m. Both teams host Robert Morris on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 11:00 a.m. All matches will take place at River Oaks Raqcuet Club in Rocky River.