| CSU Vikings.com | WEB |
Feb. 12, 2008
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Vikings Take To The Road. . . A week after the Vikings played every athletic event at home, the reverse happens this week as the six teams in action will combine to play 12 games this week, all on the road. Fresh off back-to-back home wins over Detroit and Green Bay, the men's basketball team will depart on its biggest road trip of the season, one that is certain to have an impact on CSU's seed in the upcoming Horizon League Championship. The Vikings open the week at Valparaiso on Thursday (Feb. 14) at 8:05 p.m. and then travel to ninth-ranked Butler on Saturday, Feb. 16 for a 2:00 p.m. matinee that will be televised regionally on SportsTime Ohio. The women's basketball team will put second place in the Horizon League standings on the line this week when the Vikings play at Wright State on Thursday (Feb. 14) at 5:30 p.m. and at Detroit on Saturday (Feb. 16) at 2:00 p.m. The wrestling team continues its Eastern Wrestling League schedule at Clarion on Thursday (Feb. 14), hoping to snap a five-meet losing streak when they play their final road dual meet of the season. The softball team will open its 2008 season this week when the Vikings play games against Central Michigan, James Madison, Maryland-Baltimore County and Niagara at the UNC-Greensboro Spartan Classic. The six-team tourney will be played over three days from Friday, Feb. 15 through Sunday, Feb. 17. Fresh off a shutout of St. Francis (PA) last week, the women's tennis team will travel to Dayton for a dual match against the Flyers. Action begins on Saturday (Feb. 16) at 3:00 p.m. Men's Basketball Set For Rematch Against Butler. . . With three weeks and four games left in the Horizon League schedule, the Vikings embark on a crucial two-game road swing through the State of Indiana this week. The Vikings play at Valparaiso on Thursday (Feb. 14) at 8:05 p.m. before heading to Indianapolis on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. matinee against ninth-ranked Butler. The Butler contest will be televised on SportsTime Ohio. "We've worked hard all year to put ourselves in a position to finish the year with a good seed for the league tournament," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "We have to go on the road and play well this week, otherwise we could ruin all of the things that we have accomplished this season." The Vikings enter the week with a 16-10 overall record, standing in third place in the league with a 9-5 record. CSU is a half-game behind second place Wright State (9-4), a half-game ahead of UIC (8-5) and a game ahead of Milwaukee (7-5). The top two seeds received first and second round byes in the tourney with the next four teams (seeds 3-6) hosting first round games. After dropping five straight Horizon League games, the Vikings finally put things back together, claiming a 60-56 win over Detroit on Saturday (Feb. 9) and an 81-64 win over Green Bay on Monday (Feb. 11). Junior J'Nathan Bullock dominated play offensively, scoring 21 points against the Titans and a Viking Wolstein Center record 39 points against the Phoenix, the most points by a Horizon League player this year and the 11th-highest single game total in the nation this season. The week ahead will not be an easy one as Valparaiso is 8-3 at home this season, losing home games to Milwaukee, Butler and Loyola by a combined seven points. Butler (21-2) has run off five straight wins since the Vikings handed the Bulldogs their second loss of the season, 56-52 in Cleveland on Jan. 17. Butler is a perfect 8-0 at home this year. Women's Basketball Travels To Wright State & Detroit. . . The Cleveland State women's basketball team (14-8, 8-3 HL) will begin a three-game roadtrip with a pair of games this week. The trek begins on Thursday, Feb. 14, when CSU travels to Wright State for a 5:30 p.m. and continues on Saturday, Feb. 16, when the Vikings head to Detroit for a 2:00 p.m. contest. The Vikings enter the week alone in second place in the Horizon League, two games behind league leader Green Bay (18-4, 10-1) and one game ahead of third place Milwaukee (12-10, 7-4). "We had a tough first half against Green Bay on Saturday, but I still feel like we are in a good position," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "We've got three tough games on the road coming up and we need to play with the same level of intensity and confidence that we have been playing with. We are still learning and growing as a team and I think the team can clearly see if we take care of the basketball, we will be a tough team to beat." The Vikings posted a 1-1 mark at home last week, defeating Milwaukee, 68-58, on Thursday (Feb. 7) before falling to Green Bay, 69-61, on Saturday, Feb. 9. The loss to the Phoenix snapped a six-game winning streak for the Vikings, as well as a seven-game home win streak. Kailey Klein averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the two contests. CSU continues to rank among the national leaders in free throw percentage, hitting .800 (323-404) from the charity stripe. The Vikings, who are 36-of-40 (.900) from the line in the last three games, are threatening the Horizon League record for free throw percentage in a season (.801) set by Green Bay last season. Softball Opens Season At UNC-Greensboro Spartan Classic. . . The Viking softball team will be in Greensboro, N.C. this weekend to open the 2008 season by playing four games as part of the UNCG Spartan Classic. The six-team tourney begins on Friday (Feb. 15) and runs through Sunday (Feb. 17). CSU is slated to play James Madison (10:00 a.m.) and Niagara (12:00) on Friday, Maryland-Baltimore County (10:00 a.m.) on Saturday and Central Michigan (10:00 a.m.) on Sunday. "We're excited to finally start the season," second year head coach Angie Nicholson said. "We had an awesome fall practice season and our workouts over the last month have been outstanding. We should have a very strong team this year." The Vikings return seven field starters and a record-setting pitcher from last year's team that went 33-14 and finished second in the Horizon League during both the regular season and tournament. It was the fourth time that CSU won 30 or more games in a season. Like all championship contenders, the Vikings are built strong up the middle. The double-play tandem of shortstop Christa Coppus (.405 average, 27 runs, 30 RBI) and Amanda Houchin (.383, 20, 29) at second base returns after each earned first team all-league honors. Sophomore pitcher Amanda Macenko dominated the league, going 26-10 with a 1.79 ERA to set school records for wins and innings pitched (227.1) en route to earning second team all-league honors. Wrestling Continues EWL Slate At Clarion. . . Cleveland State (4-9, 0-4 EWL) will head to Clarion on Thursday, Feb. 14 for a dual meet against the Golden Eagles at Wald S. Tippin Gymnasium. The meet is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. EST. The Vikings dropped a 26-15 decision to #14 Edinboro at Woodling Gymnasium in the team's last outing . JT Miller scored a big upset with a pin of 15th-ranked Phil Moricone at 174 pounds in the first bout of the evening. CSU's #24 Rashard Goff defeated 16th-ranked Joe Fendone in the heavyweight match, a 4-2 decision in sudden victory overtime. Mike Hurley (4-2 decision at 141) and Ryan Hurley (10-4 decision at 149) also won their matches. Chris Hahn, a 2007 NCAA Championship alternate for the Vikings last season at 197 pounds, made his 2007-08 debut, losing an 18-7 major decision to Edinboro's Chris Honeycutt at 184. "It's never pleasant losing," head coach Jack Effner said, "But I was real proud of our team. I was real concerned going in because I knew how tough Edinboro was. We talked all week about rising to the challenge, and I think we did that." Marcus Effner, at 165 pounds, has been performing very well for the Vikings lately, continuing his impressive season. He leads the team in overall wins (23), dual meet wins (9), and dual meet points (33). He was named Cleveland State's male athlete of the month for January, when he went 6-2, including a perfect 3-0 at the Buffalo Duals on Jan. 5. JT Miller's win was his 21st of the season and his third straight victory. He also is tied for second on the team with seven pins, and is second in wins. Men's Tennis Takes Week Off After 6-2 Start. . . The Cleveland State men's tennis team (6-2) will be idle this week after winning five straight. The Vikings return to action on Friday, Feb. 22 against Toledo. "This has been an incredible run so far," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Winning four matches in a row by one point was thrilling, but it was nice to catch a breath with a shorter match. This week off should help us rest a bit." The Vikings went 2-0 last weekend, defeating Duquesne and St. Francis (PA) at home. Sophomore Phil Orno (11-9 at No. 1 singles), freshman Chris Klepatz (8-7 at No. 3 singles), and senior Brad Groleski (6-4 at No. 6 singles) all went 2-0 to lead CSU. Junior Rob West (5-13 at No. 4 singles) and freshman Robert Fox (10-7 at No. 5 singles) both went 1-1 for the weekend. Women's Tennis To Face Dayton. . . The Cleveland State women's tennis team (4-2) will travel to Dayton, Ohio on Saturday, February 16 for a match against Dayton. The contest is slated to start at 3:00 p.m. "We have definitely made progress on doubles," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "We have won the last three doubles points in our matches, which helps carry us in the singles competition." The Vikings won their only match of the weekend, defeating St. Francis (PA) 7-0. Four of the five singles matches completed were decided by a 6-0, 6-0 score. Freshmen Melissa Holzinger (7-10 at No. 1 singles) and Sanda Bjelan (10-6 at No. 3 singles) both won 6-0, 6-0, at No. 1 and 3 singles, respectively. Sophomores Charlotte Gibbons (7-2 at No. 4 singles) and Denisa Muntean (9-7 at No. 5 singles) also won 6-0, 6-0, at No. 4 and 5 singles. Freshman Jackie Tabb (4-12 at No. 2 singles) won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles, while senior Lindsay Sellers (4-9 at No. 6 singles) won her match by default. Fencing Teams Idle Until Conference Championship. . . The Cleveland State men's and women's fencing teams will be out of action until Feb. 23-24 when they compete at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships in South Bend, Ind. Both teams were in action at the Notre Dame Duals on Saturday, Feb. 9, with the men's squad posting a 7-2 record and the women going 1-7-1. Liran Gross once again paced the men's team by going 21-3 with the foil, while Jeff Tormey went 18-5 with the epee. Brooke Snyder (epee), Hannah Sims (sabre) and Courtney Sims (epee) led the women's team over the weekend. "It was a good way for us to conclude the regular season against some quality competition," head coach Jim Sager said. "We will have two weeks to prepare for the conference championships and I am pleased with the progress both teams have made this season. This is what we have been working towards all season." Viking High Fives J'Nathan Bullock: If we were happy when the men's basketball junior scored 21 points in the win over Detroit on Saturday, then words couldn't adequately describe how we felt when he poured in 39 against Green Bay on Monday. Dominique Butler: The Milwaukee, Wis., native swiped three steals against Green Bay on Saturday to move into a tie for 10th place on the all-time steals list at CSU with 185. Melissa Holzinger: The freshman tennis player received Horizon League Player of the Week honors after winning both of her No. 1 singles matches against St. Bonaventure and Niagara. Phil Orno: The Viking sophomore was named Horizon League Athlete of the Week after going 2-0 at St. Bonaventure and Niagara. The Denmark native also won both of this doubles matches for the weekend. JT Miller: The wrestling junior scored the upset of the day against Edinboro with a pin of the #15 ranked Phil Moricone at 174 pounds. It was Moricone's first loss by more than two points, and also his first to an unranked opponent. The Schedule Ahead For The Vikings Feb. 14 (Thursday) Wrestling at Clarion Men's Basketball at Valparaiso Feb. 15 (Friday) Softball vs. Niagara (UNCG Tourney) Feb. 16 (Saturday) Men's Basketball at Butler Women's Basketball at Detroit Women's Tennis at Dayton Feb. 17 (Sunday)
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