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The Viking Report (Nov. 2)
Nov. 2, 2009
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Championship Play Is Upon Us... The change of seasons is underway at Cleveland State as all but two of the fall sports remain in action, each approaching their respective league championships, while four winter sports are in action this week. The volleyball team will make its annual trek to Wisconsin for a pair of matches, needing to win two of its remaining three contests to clinch its first Horizon League regular season crown. The Vikings will play at Green Bay on Friday (Nov. 6) at 8:00 p.m. before traveling to Milwaukee to face the Panthers on Saturday (Nov. 7) at 5:00 p.m. The men's soccer team will close out its regular season with a Saturday afternoon (Nov. 7) match at Valparaiso. The Vikings enter the week in second place in the league standings and have a chance this week to claim the regular season title and earn a first round bye in next week's league tourney. The women's basketball team will play the first of two exhibition games this week when the Vikings host Case Western Reserve on Friday (Nov. 6) at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. Both swimming teams will be in Youngstown on Friday (Nov. 6) for dual meets. Both teams will face Canisius at 5:00 p.m. while the women will also swim against Youngstown State. The wrestling team opens its 2009-10 campaign by taking part in the annual Eastern Michigan Open on Saturday, Nov. 6. Volleyball Heads To Wisconsin With Opportunity To Clinch Title Cleveland State concludes its four-match roadtrip with a pair of matches in Wisconsin this weekend, beginning with an 8:00 p.m. EST contest at Green Bay on Friday (Nov. 6). The trip concludes on Saturday (Nov. 7) when the Vikings play at Milwaukee at 5:00 p.m. EST. CSU begins the week at 23-6 overall and in first place in the Horizon League at 11-2. The Vikings are two-and-a-half games ahead of second place Valparaiso (9-3) with two weeks to go in the regular season. The league champion will host the Horizon League Championship from Nov. 20-22. "This is a very important weekend for us if we want to maintain our standing in the league," head coach Chuck Voss said. "We did not play to our potential last weekend in Chicago and it cost us a match. We have to find a way to get back to the way we were playing when we had a lot of confidence and were not making any mental mistakes." CSU made its annual trek to Chicago last weekend, knocking off Loyola, 3-1, on Friday (Oct. 30) before having its 12-match win streak snapped with a 3-2 setback at UIC on Saturday (Oct. 31). Liz Fazio averaged 4.33 kills and 2.11 digs per set, including her 12th double-double of the season against Loyola. Jordan Goad handed out 10.44 assists per set, while Maggie Bonomini averaged 5.22 digs per set, including a career-high 30 at Loyola. Men's Soccer Closes Regular Season At Valparaiso With the 1-0 shutout against Butler on Senior Night, the Cleveland State men's soccer team has successfully gone two straight seasons without losing a match on Krenzler Field. The Vikings are now 11-0-2 at home during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, dating back to September 12, 2008. Senior Slavisa Ubiparipovic recorded his fifth goal of the season in the 82nd minute when he put the ball right under the cross bar from five yards out. Ubiparipovic was fed by Marco DiFranco and Admir Suljevic on the game-winning goal, giving CSU its sixth shutout of the season. Brad Stuver had seven saves on the night, posting his second career shutout. "This was a great way for the seniors to go out on Krenzler Field during the regular season," head coach Ali Kazemaini said. "With a full week before our next match we will take it easy for a day and then see how things are when we get back to training. We will have some guys back in the lineup that we didn't have this weekend so that should be a positive thing for us going into the last regular season match." The squad is now 7-6-4 on the year and 4-1-2 in the Horizon League. They will close out the regular season when they travel to Valparaiso for a 2:00 p.m. EDT contest this Saturday (Nov. 7). The Vikings are second in the conference standings going into the last week of regular season play. Women's Basketball Opens Season With First Exhibition Contest Cleveland State begins its 37th season of intercollegiate basketball when the Vikings host Case Western Reserve on Friday (Nov. 6) at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. It will be the first of two exhibition contests for the Vikings this season. CSU returns four starters and eight letterwinners from last year's team that went 19-13 overall and finished in third place in the Horizon League with a program record 12 wins. It marked the second straight season that the Vikings won 19 contests. "We are really excited to get going this year," seventh year head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "This is what we have been waiting for with the way we trained all summer and during the preseason. I am anxious to get out on the court in a game situation and see what this team is capable of accomplishing." Headlining the list of returnees is senior guard Kailey Klein, the 2009-10 Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year and a two-time first team All-Horizon League pick. Klein, last year's Horizon League co-Player of the Year, enters her final season fourth on the all-time scoring list at CSU with 1,514 points, needing 338 points to break the school record. Also back is junior guard Shawnita Garland who joined Klein on the preseason first team all-league team. Garland was a second team all-league selection last year after finishing sixth in the league in scoring (12.6). Men's Swimming To Face Canisius The men's squad will travel to Youngstown State this Friday (Nov. 6) to continue the 2009-10 season when they swim against Canisius at 5:00 p.m. The men split their decisions during their second trip to South Bend, Indiana this season when they beat Miami (OH) 181-117 and fell to Notre Dame 178-120. "I think we are off to a good start on the men's side this season," head coach Wally Morton said. "We had a great meet against Notre Dame and Miami (OH) and we are all looking forward to continuing the season this Friday when we travel to Youngstown State. We showed that we could hold our own against a big name swimming program this weekend, and we will only get better as the season continues." Mark deSwardt and Jakub Dobies each recorded two victories for the Vikings. Dobies won the 100 breast and the 200 breast while deSwardt was the first to touch in the 1,000 free and the 500 free. Freshman Berry Thompson won the 50 free for the second meet in a row, winning the event against Green Bay (21.28) and again at Notre Dame (21.26). Both the 200 medley relay and the 400 free relay teams finished first against Miami (OH), and second and third respectively against Notre Dame. Women's Swimming Heads To Youngstown State After two full weeks of training, CSU will be ready to face Youngstown State, Canisius and Malone this Friday (Nov. 6) at 5:00 p.m. The women's squad last competed against Green Bay (10/24) when they came up just short 123-120 in their first home meet of the season. In the meet, the women won 11 out of the 13 events against Green Bay who is the defending Horizon League Champion. Joanna Olsson set a school record in the 200 fly when she finished in a time of 2:06.44. "The best for this year's women's swimming and diving squad is yet to come," head coach Wally Morton said. "Being so close against Green Bay, which is one of the top teams in the league gives us a lot of confidence going into our next meet at Youngstown State. The freshman on this team are still getting used to swimming at the collegiate level and already a few of them have recorded top-10 all-time swims." Cross Country To End Year At Great Lakes Regional The Cleveland State cross country team has a week off before concluding its season at the Great Lakes Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 14, in Bloomington, Ind. "We are going to use this week off to train hard before tapering off next week in preparation for the regional meet," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "The team has been training hard all season long and really competing hard at each meet. I think we have come a long way as a team from the start of the season and I am extremely pleased with the progress we have been making each week." The Vikings placed 10th at the Horizon League Championship on Saturday (Oct. 31) in Milford, Mich., with 227 points, just seven points behind ninth place Valparaiso. Sophomore Allison Craine was the Vikings top finisher, placing 27th overall in 20:37. The trio of sophomores Andria Bazilevich, Kelly Zaleski and Brittany Elmlinger were 44th, 47th and 48th respectively, with just 10 seconds separating them. Viking High Fives Men's Soccer Seniors: With the 1-0 win over on Senior Night, the 12 man senior class has gone a perfect 11-0-2 at Krenzler Field over the last two seasons. Berry Thompson: The freshman swimmer has won the 50 free two weeks in a row, first against Green Bay (21.28) then against Notre Dame and Miami (OH) (21.26). Kailey Klein: The women's basketball senior was named the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, becoming just the third player in school history to earn the award. Maggie Bonomini: The volleyball senior set a career high with 30 digs in Friday's win at Loyola.
The Schedule Ahead For The Vikings Nov. 6 (Friday) Swimming vs. Canisuis (at YSU) WBK hosts Case Western (Exhibition) Volleyball at Green Bay Nov. 7 (Saturday) Men's Soccer at Valparaiso Volleyball at Milwaukee |
