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Aug. 27, 2007 Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Vikings Open 2007-08 Athletic Year. . . A modest schedule awaits the four Viking athletic programs that will be in action during the first full week of competition during the 2007-08 athletic year. Fresh off a second place finish at the Toledo Invitational last week, the volleyball team will play its only home match in the next month on Tuesday (August 28) when the Vikings host Kent State at 7:00 p.m. in Woodling Gym. CSU then travels to Lexington, Ky. for matches against Austin Peay (Aug. 31), Georgetown (Sept. 1) and host Kentucky (Sept. 1) over the weekend at the Kentucky Invitational. The men's soccer team will open its 2007 campaign at home on Friday (Aug. 31) with an 8:00 p.m. match against St. Bonaventure. CSU will then start a five-match road trip with a Sunday afternoon (Sept. 2) contest at Niagara. The women's soccer team will be at home for both matches this week, hosting the inaugural CSU Fall Classic at Krenzler Field. The two-day tourney begins on Friday (Aug. 31) when Ohio University and DePaul meet at 3:00 p.m. followed by the Vikings against St. Bonaventure at 5:30 p.m. After an off day, St. Bonaventure and Ohio will meet at 12 noon on Sunday (Sept. 2), followed by CSU against DePaul at 3:00 p.m. Volleyball Hosts Kent State, Travels To Kentucky Tourney. . . The CSU volleyball team (3-1) will open its home season on Tuesday (Aug. 28) with a match against Kent State before heading to Lexington, Ky., for the Kentucky Invitational on Aug. 31-Sept. 1. The Vikings will face Austin Peay on Friday evening before squaring off against Georgetown and Kentucky on Saturday. The Vikings opened the season with four matches at the Toledo Invitational (Aug. 24-25). After sweeping Bradley and IUPUI on Friday, the Vikings fell to Xavier, 3-2, before coming back to sweep Toledo to finish 3-1. Junior Jenni Ramminger (.345, 2.71 kpg, 1.29 bpg) and sophomore Alexis Korovich (3.32 kpg, 3.31 dpg) were both named to the all-tournament team for their efforts. In addition, senior Mel Snyder, who averaged 12.1 assists per game, moved into 10th place on the all-time service aces list at CSU with 107. "I was very happy with the way we played over the weekend," head coach Chuck Voss said. "We were extremely strong on defense, blocked very well and had several outstanding offensive performances." Men's Soccer Hosts St. Bonaventure, Travels To Niagara. . . The Vikings men's soccer team, which earned the distinction of being the most-improved team in the country in 2006 (based on improvement in wins) will open the 44th season of soccer at CSU when it hosts St. Bonaventure on Friday (Aug. 31) beginning at 8:00 p.m. at Krenzler Field. The Vikings will then travel to Lewiston, N.Y. to face Niagara on Sunday (Sept. 2) at 1:00 p.m. Nine starters return from last year's team, giving second-year head coach Ali Kazemaini a roster that is filled with both depth and experience. Add to the mix 10 first-year players, and CSU easily has its most-talented team in more than a decade. In preparation for the regular season, Cleveland State split a pair of exhibition matches, downing Bowling Green, 2-1 on Aug. 19 before falling 3-0 at Akron on Aug. 26. The Bowling Green contest was played in a driving rainstorm on Krenzler Field, weather conditions that limited CSU's fast-paced offensive attack. Still, Bryan Henson and Jordan Zapotechne scored second half goals to give the Vikings the victory. "I thought we played pretty well in our two exhibition games, but we will need to be even stronger once the season begins this week," Kazemaini said. "With so many players back from last year, we have had some really good competition in practice for playing time which will help to make us a better team." Women's Soccer Hosts CSU Fall Classic. . . The women's soccer team will open the 2007 regular season when it hosts teams from DePaul, Ohio and St. Bonaventure for the inaugural CSU Fall Classic. The tourney will be played over two days with DePaul and Ohio meeting on Friday (Aug. 31) as a preliminary match before CSU takes on St. Bonaventure at 5:30 p.m. After a day off, tourney play resumes on Sunday (Sept. 2) with Ohio and St. Bonaventure meeting at 12:00 noon followed by CSU against DePaul at 3:00 p.m. "Preseason practice has gone pretty smoothly to date which leads me to believe that we are ready for the regular season to begin," head coach Derrek Falor said. "With so much depth and experience on the roster, we have been able to focus on trying to determine which players need to be on the field and how we can best use the talent that we have." The Vikings split a pair of exhibition matches last weekend, rallying in the final minutes to claim a 2-1 win over Notre Dame College on Friday (Aug. 24) before dropping a 2-0 decision to Kent State on Sunday (Aug. 26). Cross Country Opens Season At Bill Sudeck Invitational. . . The women's cross country team, led by third year head coach Joe Jaketic, will open the season at the Bill Sudeck Classic on Saturday (Sept. 1). The race is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. CSU placed eighth at the Horizon League Championships last season, which was the first time since 1997 that the Vikings finished ahead of another team when they were seventh of eight teams at the MCC Championships. Sophomore Colleen Conway is the top returner for the Vikings after she placed 42nd at the league championships last year (21:23). In addition, sophomore Julie Piotrowski returns after running in just one race last season due to an injury. She finished 41st at the 2005 league championships (20:25). "I am very excited about the prospects of this year's team," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "I put them through a tough week of practice and the team really surprised me with the way they responded." Viking High Fives Amy Benz: The freshman became accustomed to the college game very quickly in her first weekend out as she led the team in hitting percentage (.424) and blocks (19), while finishing third with 36 kills. Shayna Back: The women's soccer senior had a hand in both goals, including scoring the game-winner with 1:12 remaining, as CSU upended Notre Dame College, 2-1, last week. She led the team in both goals (6) and points (14) last year. Jordan Zapotechne: The men's soccer transfer from Akron scored the game-winner on a penalty shot to give CSU a 2-1 win over Bowling Green in its exhibition opener. Jenni Ramminger: The volleyball junior was named to the All-Tournament team at the Toledo Invitational and garnered Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honors after totaling 18 blocks in the four matches. The Schedule Ahead For The Vikings Aug. 28 (Tuesday) Aug. 31 (Friday) Women's Soccer hosts St. Bonaventure Men's Soccer hosts St. Bonaventure Sept. 1 (Saturday) Volleyball at Georgetown Volleyball vs. Kentucky Sept. 2 (Sunday) Women's Soccer hosts DePaul
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