Oct. 4, 2008

Contact: Dana Ingraham

TULSA, Okla. -- The CSU men's tennis team concluded their first weekend of the fall season Saturday as they wrapped up competition at the D'Novo/ITA Men's All -American Championships and the Ball State Invitational.

At the All-American, Viking standout Phil Orno was defeated in the second round of singles play by the No. 14 seed, NC State's Christian Welte, losing 6-4, 6-2.

"Phil didn't play his best tennis today, and that was tough," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Overall though, I think this tournament served its purpose. We come here to compete against players we wouldn't normally see during the season. This shows us where we stand, and hopefully we can come back next year and do better."

The rest of the squad finished the Ball State Invitational on a high note, putting together a stronger showing in doubles play under the direction of assistant coach Mark Barry.

In the "B" flight, partners Yannick Goossens and Aris Spirtos dug themselves out of a 7-2 hole against Stephen McLaughlin and Benji Raynould of Butler, fighting back to score seven straight points and win the match 9-7. Goossens and Spirtos finished the weekend with a 2-1 record.

Robert Fox and Steven Wipprecht came up just short in a tough match in the "A" flight, falling 8-6 to Duquesne's Mark Maciuch and Alex Mast.

"As a team our doubles played really well this weekend," Coach Barry said. "We had a couple good wins against Wright State and Butler, and we were extremely competitive against Duquesne. We still have a lot to work on, but this is a good starting point for us."

With his victory on Friday night, Adam Perkins was the only CSU player to advance in singles play, but was defeated by Rodrigo Tamashiro of IPFW in the "C" flight consolation quarterfinal round.

The Vikings will continue their fall season as they travel to Kentucky next weekend (Oct. 10) for the Louisville Invitational.

D'Novo/ITA Men's All American Championships
Second Day Results
No. 14 Christian Welte (NC State) def. Phil Orno (CSU, 6-4, 6-2

Ball State Invitational
Second Day Results
"C" singles flight
Consolation quarterfinal round
Rodrigo Tamashiro (IPFW), def. Adam Perkins (CSU), 6-1, 6-0

"A" doubles flight
Quarterfinal round
Maciuch/Mast (Duquesne) def. Fox/Wipprecht (CSU), 8-6

"B" doubles flight
Quarterfinal round
Goossens/Spirtos (CSU) def. McLaughlin/Raynould (Butler), 9-7
Semifinal round
Miljevic/Reichelt (Ill. State) def. Goossens/Spirtos (CSU), 8-5

"C" doubles flight
Consolation first round
Fortune/Stump (Valparaiso) def. Perkins/Veselenak (CSU), 8-0