Oct. 11, 2008

Contact: Dana Ingraham

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- CSU sophomore Chris Klepatz led the Vikings on the second day of the Louisville Invitational as he continued to dominate in the "C" flight of the singles main draw.

Klepatz defeated Priyank Gangadharan of Western Kentucky in straight sets followed by a three-set win over Adam Donaldson of host school Louisville to advance to the finals of the main draw. He will face Toledo's Gursher Harika at 11:30 a.m. Sunday morning for a first place finish in the "C" bracket.

"Chris definitely gave us our best results today" said head coach Brian Etzkin. "He is working on points well and finishing matches strong. I am happy to see him back on the court playing good tennis.

"For the past couple years that we have been coming to this tournament, I don't think we have won a draw yet, so Chris has a chance to do something special that hasn't been done in quite awhile."

Classmate Robert Fox, the only other Viking to remain alive in singles play, advanced to the semi-finals of the consolation "C" bracket after wins over Morehead State and Eastern Illinois. Fox will play Xavier's Marc Pretorius in the back draw semi-finals at 10:00 a.m. Sunday.

"Rob is playing some of the best tennis I have seen him play in his two years at Cleveland State," Etzkin said. "Playing the way he did today he has a good chance of winning more matches tomorrow."

Fox could earn as high as a fifth place finish in his flight should he win both the consolation semi-final and final matches.

CSU standout Phil Orno was eliminated in the "A" flight quarter final round by Robert Rotaru of Louisville, the player who won this tournament last year.

The Vikings may also play up to two more doubles matches on Sunday, although their two remaining teams were defeated in the quarter-finals. The results will not count towards the tournament, but will count towards team results.

Louisville Invitational
Second Day Results
Doubles
"A" flight quarter-finals
Gruter/Vogl (Indiana) def. Hamning/Orno (CSU), 8-3
"B" flight quarter-finals
Donaldson/Barnoud (Louisville) def. West/Fox (CSU), 8-6

Singles
Main draw "A" flight quarter-final
Robert Rotaru (Louisville) def. Phil Orno (CSU), 7-6(4), 6-4

Main draw "B" flight quarter-final
Ra'ees Ismail (Xavier) def. Yannick Goossens (CSU), 7-6(4), 6-4

Main draw "C" flight quarter-final
Chris Klepatz (CSU) def. Priyank Gangadharan (W. Kentucky), 6-2, 6-2
Main draw "C" flight semi-final
Christ Klepatz (CSU) def. Adam Donaldson (Louisville), 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
(Klepatz advances to main draw final match Sunday, 11:30 a.m.)
Consolation draw "C" flight first round
Robert Fox (CSU) def. Charles Hodge (Morehead State), 6-3, 6-3
Marc Pretorius (Xavier) def. Aris Spirtos (CSU), 6-4, 6-3
Consolation draw "C" flight quarter-final
Robert Fox (CSU) def. Brendan Pontow (E. Illinois), 6-3, 6-1
(Fox advances to consolation draw semi-final match Sunday, 10:00 a.m.)

Main draw "D" flight quarter-final
Quinn Saine (W. Kentucky) def. Nate Veselenak (CSU), 6-1, 6-3
Consolation draw "D" flight quarter-final
Skyler Engel (Toledo) def. Adam Perkins (CSU), 6-0, 6-7, 11-9