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Oct. 29, 2007 Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Championship Season Continues. . . The schedule begins to slow for the Vikings this week as only six teams will be in competition with five of the eight scheduled events taking place at home. Horizon League Championship play for the fall sports continues this week when the women's soccer team begins play in the nine-team tourney against Youngstown State on Tuesday (Oct. 30) beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Krenzler Field. A victory in the contest would advance CSU to a quarterfinal match at regular season champion Milwaukee on Saturday (Nov. 3). The volleyball team has two weeks left in its regular season, hosting Valparaiso on Saturday (Nov. 3) at 4:00 p.m. before playing a non-conference tilt against Dayton on Sunday (Nov. 4) at 1:00 p.m. Both matches will be played in Woodling Gym. The men's soccer team has just one regular season match remaining, traveling to Valparaiso on Friday (Nov. 2) for a 3:00 p.m. contest against the Crusaders. The men's and women's swimming teams will host their third meet of the season, squaring off with St. Bonaventure on Friday, Nov. 2 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in Busbey Natatorium. The wrestling team begins its 2007-08 season when it takes part in the Eastern Michigan Open. The one-day tourney will take place on Saturday, Nov. 3 in Ypsilanti, Mich. Volleyball Hosts Valparaiso & Dayton. . . Cleveland State (18-7, 11-3 HL) returns home for a pair of matches this weekend to begin a three-match homestand to conclude the regular season. The Vikings will host league newcomer Valparaiso at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 3) before welcoming 17th-ranked Dayton to Woodling Gym on Sunday (Nov. 4) for a 1:00 p.m. non-conference match. Saturday's match against the Crusaders is Alumni Day. "It will be nice to get back home this weekend and play in front of our fans," head coach Chuck Voss said. "We want to get through this weekend healthy and finish the season strong. We need to continue to stay focused and play with a high level of intensity against two tough opponents this weekend." CSU maintained its hold on second place in the conference and with one more league win, the Vikings will assure themselves of finishing no lower than second place in the conference. CSU trails first place Milwaukee by 1.5 games. The Vikings earned a weekend split in Chicago to conclude a four-match roadtrip at 2-2. CSU picked up a 3-0 sweep of Loyola on Friday (Oct. 26) before falling at UIC, 3-2, on Saturday (Oct. 27). The victory over Loyola enabled CSU to tie the 2005 squad for the school-record for most conference wins in a season. Beth Greulich tallied a match-best 19 kills against Loyola, as the Vikings hit a season-best .357 en route to the sweep. CSU, which trailed just five times all match, also received 11 kills from Amy Benz, while Mel Snyder recorded 48 assists and nine digs. The next day, CSU erased a 2-1 deficit by routing UIC, 30-12, in game four. It was the fewest points CSU allowed in a game all season and the least since surrendering 11 to Oakland on Oct. 11, 2005. However, the Flames scored the final seven points of game five to pick up a 15-9 win. Alexis Korovich registered a season-best 21 kills and hit .429, committing just three errors in 42 attempts. Snyder ended with a double-double of 51 assists and 13 digs. Men's Soccer Closes Regular Season At Valparaiso. . . After a couple of contests that did not go the Vikings way, the men's soccer team closes out their regular season on Friday (Nov. 2) at Valparaiso at 4:00 p.m. The Vikings then will wait a week and begin the Horizon League tournament on Nov. 9. "We are excited to get into the tournament," head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "Once the tournament begins, everyone is 0-0." Last week, the Vikings played both opponents tough in the first half, but both Detroit and Duke put the game away in the second half. On Friday (Oct. 26), Detroit's Renato Susnja scored two goals and added an assist to help defeat CSU, 4-0. Detroit used the power of three second half goals to put the game away. On Sunday (Oct. 28) the Vikings gave up a goal on a header in the fifth minute and Duke took 25 shots in defeating CSU, 3-0. Women's Soccer Hosts YSU In Horizon League First Round. . . The women's soccer team will remain at home on Tuesday (Oct. 30) when the Vikings host Youngstown State at 7:00 p.m. at Krenzler Field in the only first round match in the Horizon League Championship. The winner of the match will advance to play regular season champion Milwaukee on Saturday (Nov. 3) in Milwaukee. The Vikings closed the regular season last week by tying Detroit, 2-2, on Friday and falling to Butler, 3-1, on Sunday. CSU (4-13-1, 1-6-1 HL) enters the tournament as the No. 8 seed for the fourth straight year. "There have already been so many milestone moments for our program this year that it makes sense that we will end the year with another one," head coach Derrek Falor said. "We had one last week when we tied Detroit and by hosting a league tournament match, we will hopefully reach another one." After recording only the second tie in school history on Friday vs. Detroit, the Vikings celebrated their three seniors prior to Sunday's match against Butler. Seniors Shayna Back, Heather Clapacs and Amber Rasmussen, each of whom joined the program as part of the first recruiting class in 2004, have each started at least 70 matches during their career. Wrestling Season Gets Underway At Eastern Michigan Open. . . The wrestling team gets the 2007-08 season underway when the Vikings travel to Ypsilanti, Mich. for the Eastern Michigan Open on Saturday, Nov. 3 beginning at 10:00 a.m. "We are excited to get the season underway," head coach Jack Effner said. "We've been wrestling each other for several months so it will be a nice change of scenery to see another uniform across from us." In preparation for the season opener, the Vikings held their traditional Green-White scrimmage on Friday (Oct. 26). The green squad came away with a 40-6 win. Returning NCAA qualifiers Ryan Hurley and Marcus Effner won both of their matches as Hurley defeated Shaun Mitchell, 11-4, and won a major decision over Dan Castillo (11-2) in the 149-pound weight class. Effner defeated Nate Kmetz, 6-5, and pinned Dustin Doty in the 165-pound weight class. "Our returning NCAA qualifiers will be tough to beat," Effner said. "It will be fun to watch the team come together." Freshman Eric Schwartz (HWT) had good success on the afternoon as he defeated Jeff Schuller 7-3, and NCAA qualifier Rashard Goff, 3-2, in the heavyweight division. Freshman Alex Hughes defeated Ben Balog in the 197-pound weight class and freshman Josh Palivoda downed Matt Waxman, 8-0, and Mike Mitchell, 14-5, in the 133-pound weight class. Men's Swimming Hosts St. Bonaventure. . . The early season swim meets continue this week for the men's swimming team when they host St. Bonaventure on Friday (Nov 2) at 6:00 p.m. at Busbey Natatorium. The Vikings ran their dual meet record to 2-0 on Saturday (Oct. 27) when they defeated Green Bay, 132-102, at Busbey Natatorium. Jakub Dobies won both the 200 IM (1:58.20) and the 200 yard breaststroke (2:07.93), while Zvonimir Androic placed first in the 200 yard backstroke and second in the 200 yard freestyle against the Phoenix. "We are really doing well for this early in the season," head coach Wally Morton said. "The men are close to setting personal best times every time they take to the water." "We are really looking forward to the meet with St. Bonaventure," Morton said. "It will be two good teams going up against each other." St. Bonaventure Next For Women's Swimming . . . The women's swim team will be at home this weekend for third time in the young season when the Vikings host St. Bonaventure on Friday (Nov. 3) beginning at 6:00 p.m. in Busbey Natatorium. Cleveland State fell to 0-3 on the season when they lost to defending Horizon League champion Green Bay, 147-69, on Saturday (Oct. 27). Frances Carrion won the 1000 freestyle (11:00.80), and set her personal best in the 500 free (5:20.01) to lead CSU. Kristine Bunker finished second in the 200 freestyle (2:02.41), and second in the 500 yard freestyle (5:33.33). "Even though the results are not there yet. We are pleased with the enthusiasm and the support the ladies have for each other," head coach Wally Morton said. Cross Country Ends Year Strong At Horizon League Championships. . . Cleveland State ran to a ninth place finish among 10 schools at the Horizon League Championships on Saturday morning at Sunset Hills Park in Valparaiso, Ind. It marked the second straight season that the Vikings finished ahead of at least one school at the conference championships, marking the first time since 1996-97 that the Vikings finished ahead of another league school in back-to-back seasons. "I am extremely proud of how the team battled all season," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "We ran hard and competed at every race and to finish the season on a high note at the conference championships is a great feeling." Allison Craine capped her rookie season in style as she led the Vikings for the eighth straight race. She placed 19th in 19:51 and was the fourth freshman overall to finish. Craine's 19th place finish marked the first time in more than 10 years that a CSU harrier placed in the top-20 at the league championships. Colleen Conway was 43rd in 20:51, while Julie Piotrowski was CSU's third runner as she registered a 20:59 to place 50th. Alison Ohliger and Jordan Hoile rounded out the top-five for CSU as Ohliger finished 61st in 21:16, while Hoile was two seconds behind in 62nd. CSU scored 225 points to outdistance Youngstown State by eight points in the final standings. Fencing Has Strong Showing At Ohio State Invitational. . . The Viking fencing teams opened the 2007-08 season on Saturday (Oct. 27) at the Ohio State duals against 10 other teams. The men's squad posted a 9-1 mark, while the women's team went 5-5. "This was a great way for us to open the season," head coach Jim Sager said. "The men's team got off to one of the fastest starts in school-history, while the women more than held their own against some strong competition. I am extremely pleased that all of our hard work is paying off." The men's squad earned wins against Chicago, Indiana, Michigan, Detroit, Michigan State, Bowling Green, Case Western, Xavier and Purdue. The Vikings dropped their lone match to fifth-ranked Ohio State. Liran Gross went 28-2 in the foil, while John Marshall was 24-4 in the same event. John Downey was solid in the sabre as he posted a 21-4 record. The CSU women earned wins against Detroit, Bowling Green, Case Western, Xavier and Purdue, but fell to Ohio State, Chicago, Michigan State, Indiana and Michigan. Katie Smetana was 15-9 in the sabre, while Olwen Conant went 16-12 with the foil. Brooke Snyder fared well with the epee as she went 14-10. The Vikings will be out of action until the Penn State Open on Nov. 17-18. Viking High Fives John Marshall: The freshman fencer went 24-4 at foil over the weekend at Ohio State, helping CSU to go 9-1. Allison Craine: The freshman harrier kept her perfect streak intact, leading CSU at the Horizon League Championships with a 19th place finish. She led the Vikings in all eight meets this season. Beth Greulich: The sophomore hit .391 with 33 kills to earn Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second straight week and third time in her career. The Schedule Ahead For The Vikings Oct. 30 (Tuesday) Nov. 2 (Friday) Swimming hosts St. Bonaventure Nov. 3 (Saturday) Wrestling at Eastern Michigan Open Women's Soccer at Horizon League Championship Nov. 4 (Sunday)
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