May 10, 2009
Contact: Dana Ingraham LEXINGTON, Ky - The CSU men's tennis team ended its record-breaking season on Friday, bowing out to host University of Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Cleveland State entered the tournament as the underdog looking to upset a division I powerhouse for the second year in a row. The 2009 Horizon League champions came up short in a 4-0 loss, reminiscent to last year's playoff berth at Ohio State. This year, CSU could not find an answer for the eleventh-seeded UK. The doubles team of Bruno Agostinelli and Brad Cox , ranked No. 22 in the nation, handed the Vikings' own top doubles team its third loss of the season. Phil Orno and Ryan Hamning finished the year with a 21-3 mark at first doubles. After picking up the doubles point with a win at the third spot, the Wildcats rolled with three straight-set singles wins. Orno, Rob West, and Steven Wipprecht were bested by Kentucky opponents at the top, middle, and bottom of the lineup. Yannick Goossens won his first set at No. 4, where his match was cut short when the match had been decided. "We didn't get off to our best start in the doubles matches, but a few of our guys were able to play their singles matches pretty evenly," said CSU head coach Brian Etzkin. "It was a little frustrating to judge our progress in sets instead of team points, but in order to score the big upset we needed all six guys to put pressure on Kentucky at the same time. "There are a lot of positives we can take away from this match and this season as a whole. We achieved what we set out to do in the beginning of the year, and now it is time to push the program forward and set our sights even higher for next year. It was an honor to have the opportunity to represent our school and our conference on a national scale and hopefully we can do that again next season."
The loss snapped a ten-match winning streak for CSU, dating back to a key 4-3 win over Xavier on March 28. With their final match behind them, the Vikings complete another historic season for Cleveland State tennis. The men tallied the most single-season wins (20) on their way to an undefeated Horizon League record and an eventual outright championship. That conference title as well as this tournament appearance mark the second time in two years that CSU has earned these honors. Five Viking men were also recognized with Horizon League postseason awards for these efforts, including Etzkin who was named Coach of the Year. Cleveland State will lose its two seniors, West and Wipprecht, to graduation, but expects eight returners to be back for the 2010 campaign. #11 Kentucky 4, Cleveland State 0 |
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