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Dec. 3, 2007
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Three Basketball Games Featured As Schedule Slows For Finals. . . With final exams for fall semester just a week away, the athletic schedule at CSU slows to a crawl as only two teams will be in action this week. The men's basketball team is featured in two of those events, traveling to Chicago State on Tuesday (Dec. 4) for an 8:00 p.m. non-league contest. The Vikings then return home on Saturday (Dec. 8) to begin Horizon League play against Youngstown State beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. The women's basketball team is the only other squad competing this week, playing at IUPUI in Indianapolis, Ind. on Wednesday night (Dec. 5) at 7:00 p.m.. Volleyball Falls In NCAA Championship First Round. . . Cleveland State concluded its season with an overall record of 23-9 following a 3-0 setback to Albany in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA Championship on Friday (Nov. 30) night at Penn State. It was the first NCAA Championship appearance in school-history for the Vikings. "All the credit to Albany," head coach Chuck Voss said. "We were a little jittery at the beginning of the match and never really recovered. I saw us make mistakes that we had not made all season. But I am extremely proud of this team and all we accomplished. We had a great season and with so much youth on the roster, I think our best years are still ahead of us." Beth Greulich led the Vikings with 10 kills, while Alexis Korovich added nine. Mel Snyder dished out 29 assists and finished the season with a school-record 1,469 assists, while Jordan Bateman's 14 digs raised her single-season school-record to 599. CSU, which has now recorded six consecutive regular seasons, won 23 games, the most since the 1983 squad won 29. In addition, the .742 winning percentage is the second best in school-history, trailing only the 1982 team that went 38-11 (.776). Men's Basketball Begins Horizon League Play. . . The men's basketball team continues its non-league slate with a pair of games this week. The Vikings open the schedule with its lone over-night road trip in December, traveling to Chicago, Ill. to face Chicago State on Tuesday, Dec. 4 beginning at 8:00 p.m. CSU then returns home to open Horizon League play against Youngstown State on Saturday, Dec. 8 beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. Cleveland State split a pair of home games last week to improve to 5-3 on the season. The Vikings dropped a 78-68 decision to Cal State Northridge on Wedneday night (Nov. 28) and routed Geneva, 107-51 on Saturday night (Dec. 1). "We are still working on getting better as a team," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "That is going to be important this week when we face Youngstown State because that game counts in the league standings. I'm happy with our progress so far, but we can't let up and we need to make the most out of the next five games so that we are fully prepared for when the full league schedule starts." The Vikings got their offense going in high gear last week, topping the 100-point mark for the first time since late in the 1999-00 season. Five players scored in double figures, including a career-high 20 points off the bench from Joe Davis, and CSU shot a season-best .560 from the field (42-75). The success this year has come because of hard work. CSU leads the league in both rebounding margin (+5.9) and offensive rebounds (14.5/game) and is holding opponents to just .416 shooting from the field, the second-lowest average in the league this season. Women's Basketball Travels To IUPUI. . . Cleveland State (2-4) continues its five-game roadtrip with a 7:00 p.m. contest at IUPUI on Wednesday (Dec. 5) night. It will be CSU's lone game of the week as the Vikings will have a 10-day layoff following the game. "We have a stretch of games coming up that we need to build some momentum off of," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "We need to continue to grow as a team and build offensively and defensively. This is an important stretch for us and we need to find a way to put together a complete game." The Vikings went 0-2 last week, falling to Ohio, 70-59, on Monday in the Wolstein Center before losing at Miami (OH) on Saturday (Dec. 1) afternoon, 89-71. Kailey Klein led the Vikings with 19 points against Ohio, including a 15-for-16 effort from the free throw line to tie the CSU single game record for free throws made in a game. Not to be outdone, Dominique Butler etched herself into the Viking record book by hitting 9-of-10 shots from the field against Ohio enroute to tying her career-high with 21 points. Her .900 shooting performance is tied for second best in school-history, trailing only Amy Dirksen's 10-of-11 effort versus Chicago State in 1997. Wrestling Breaks For Finals, Host CSU Open On Dec. 15. . . The Viking wrestling team will take the week off from competition in order to focus its energy on the upcoming final exams Cleveland State faced a tough field last weekend at Penn State's Nittany Lion Open. Junior Marcus Effner was the top finisher for the Vikings as he placed 4th at 165 pounds. As the day wore on it became apparent that he would be the only one to place, though junior JT Miller came close after a 5-2 day. Several Vikings went without a win, including the Hurley brothers at 141 and 149 in Mike Hurley's first action of the season. Head coach Jack Effner does not look at this fact as being a negative, but rather, a positive. "It was an awesome experience to see some of the top wrestlers that we will see all year," Effner said, "An open like this really gives us purpose, and was a real eye-opener. It truly shows how important it is to work hard to achieve what we want to this year." Dobies Qualifies For NCAA Swimming Championships In Two Events. . . The Viking swim teams competed at the Miami Invitational this past weekend in Oxford, Ohio. Sophomore Jakub Dobies recorded NCAA Provisioinal marks in two events, winning the 200 breaststroke and finishing second in the 100 breast. Dobies' time of 54.03 in the 100 breast set school, pool and invitational records as well as setting an NCAA qualifying mark, while a 2:00.43 in the 200 breaststroke was also a school record and NCAA qualifier. Overall the men finished 7th out of the 16 team field, while the women registered a 13th place out of the field of 16. Invitational team champions were Miami on the women's side with Denison recording an overall win on the men's side. "Overall we had some of our best performances, and top times from several people," said head coach Wally Morton. "I am very encouraged by the improvement I am seeing from both the men and the women." Fencing Sweeps Duals On Alumni Day. . . Both Cleveland State fencing teams swept duals from Case Western and Oberlin on Saturday (Dec. 1) in Woodling Gym on Alumni Day. The men's squad, which improved to 11-2 this season, bested Case Western (22-5) and Oberlin (25-2), while the women's team moved to 7-5 this season with victories over Case Western, 20-7, and Oberlin, 20-4. "I am extremely pleased with how we have improved this fall," head coach Jim Sager said. "The men are off to the best start since I have been here, while the women have been consistent all season. We have a little break for the holidays and then we return to face some quality competition that will give us a good chance to evaluate where we are at as a team." Liran Gross led the men's squad over the weekend by going a perfect 6-0 with the foil to improve to 34-2 this season. He was named MVP of the event. In addition, John Marshall and Stephen Montgomery were also 6-0 in the two duals as the Viking foilers went a combined 18-0. Andy Snell posted a 6-0 mark with the epee. On the women's side, Hannah Simms and Danielle Shepherd tallied identical 5-0 marks with the sabre. Both teams are out of competitive action until the Penn State Duals on Jan. 29. Viking High Fives Jakub Dobies: The men's swimming standout set two school records, a pool and invitational record and posted two NCAA qualifying marks at the Miami Invitational. Dobies' times were 54.03 in the 100 breaststroke and 2:00.43 in the 200 breaststroke. Liran Gross: The sophomore fencer improved to 34-2 with the foil this season by posting a perfect 6-0 mark against Oberlin and Case Western. Jordan Bateman: The volleyball libero tallied a game-high 14 digs against Albany and finished the season with a school-record 599 digs. Cedric Jackson: The men's basketball junior had four steals in both games last week to increase his Horizon League leading steal total to 26, almost twice as many as any other player in the league. Marcus Effner: The wrestling junior went 4-2 at the Nittany Lion Open as he finished 4th overall at 165 pounds in a field that featured 57 tough competitors. The Schedule Ahead For The Vikings Dec. 4 (Tuesday) Dec. 5 (Wednesday) Dec. 8 (Saturday)
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