CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State men's tennis team wrapped up its first weekend in the Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion of the 2021 season on Sunday, dropping a hard fought 4-3 match to Ball State.

"I thought today the guys left everything on the court – they had some great focus and the energy was better than yesterday up and down the lineup," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "The two matches this weekend were as close as they could possibly be, and although we didn't get the results we wanted, I think we were able to grow as a team and that will help is in the long run. Good teams are able to take bad results and use them for motivation and growth, and this team is definitely ready to get back to work next week."

For the second straight match the Vikings were able to pick up the early doubles point, earning wins at the top two spots. At No. 1 doubles, Nico Mostardi and Luke Phillips posted a 6-4 victory, while Clark Bilinovich and Raul Teichmann earned a matching 6-4 win at the No. 2 spot to give Cleveland State the 1-0 advantage.

After Ball State was able to gain a 2-1 lead in the match with wins at No. 5 and No. 1 singles, Phillips was able to even the score for the Vikings as he picked up a three-set victory at the No. 2 spot. Phillips' 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory marked his second win of the weekend, and put the score at 2-2 with three singles matches remaining.

Ball State was then able to claim a win at No. 6 singles, but the Vikings responded with a win from Maxime Mareschal-Hay at the No. 4 spot, to once again even the match at 3-3. Mareschal-Hay earned a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) victory at No. 4 singles, posting the first singles win of his collegiate career.

The final point of the match came down to No. 3 singles then, as the Cardinals pulled out a three-set victory to clinch the second match of the weekend doubleheader.

The Vikings will continue their 2021 campaign next weekend, as they are scheduled to host Findlay at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 6.