Tennis Teams Head to Niagara and St. Bonaventure

CSU To Play Saturday and Sunday in New York

Maria Lazaris

Feb. 4, 2010

CLEVELAND, Ohio - While both Cleveland State tennis teams are back on the road this weekend, things get a little easier in terms of travel as both teams will be heading to New York for matches against the same teams this weekend.

The Vikings will play at Niagara on Saturday (Feb. 6) with both teams facing the Purple Eagles at 6:00 p.m. at the Sportsplex in North Tonawanda, N.Y. On Sunday, Feb. 7, both teams will travel to St. Bonaventure with the women playing at 11:00 a.m. and the men at 2:00 p.m. Those matches will be played at the St. Bonaventure Fitness Center.

"It's always nice to have both teams playing at the same place because I get a chance to see everyone in action," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "These are big matches for both the men's and women's teams and we want to go out and play good, solid tennis and build some momentum moving forward. We have had a pretty good week of practice and I feel that we are ready to take on two more road challenges against some pretty good teams."

The women's team has yet to win a match this spring (0-4), but has played three Big Ten teams and a talented Western Michigan squad. All four matches have been on the road as CSU will play eight matches on the road before its first home contest of the season.

"We put together a very challenging early season schedule in hopes of making us a tougher team when we get into the league schedule," Etzkin said. "Although we have not won a match yet, I feel that we are making progress against some great teams. These are the experiences that will help us as we move forward."

CSU was in action just once last week, falling at Purdue, 7-0, on Saturday (Jan. 30). Catrine Bjerrehus and Charlotte Gibbons put up a fight at No. 1 doubles before falling, 8-4, and the Boilermakers went on to sweep all six singles matches in straight sets.

"I saw some good things at Purdue," Etzkin said. "I thought Nicole (Janek) played very well at three singles and Charlotte and Catrine battled tough at number one doubles. I feel that we are continually improving at doubles and improving each time we take the court."

Last season, the Vikings defeated both St. Bonaventure (5-1) and Niagara (5-2) at home.

"Both teams have some new players on the roster, so I am not sure what to expect," Etzkin said. "I feel that we match up with both teams pretty well and we just need to go out and play our style of tennis. The rest will take care of itself."

Freshman Maria Lazaris continues to lead the team with five wins, while Bjerrehus, Janek and Sanda Bjelan have four victories each.

Meanwhile, the CSU men's squad has started out the spring season 3-1. After winning at Michigan State to open the season two weeks ago, the Vikings came home to host three matches last weekend. The homestand began with a 5-2 setback to Xavier on Jan. 30, before CSU topped Duquesne (5-2) and Robert Morris (7-0) at River Oaks Racquet Club on Sunday (Jan. 31).

"The men's team has gotten off to a good start this spring," Etzkin said. "It was a little disappointing to lose such a close match to Xavier because the continually won the key points. We need to find a way to step up in those key situations and win big points.

"We are still not where we need to be as a team, but that isn't a bad thing because we don't want to peak to early. We are going to continue to work hard in practice and that will translate to success during our matches."

Senior Ryan Hamning had a big week for the Vikings, going 4-1 in his matches and earning Horizon League Player of the Week honors for the third time in his career. After falling at No. 1 doubles against Xavier, Hamning won his next four matches.

"Ryan has been playing at a very high level so far this spring," Etzkin said. "He is playing with a lot of confidence and is very focused on what he needs to do to help the team be successful."

Hamning continues to team with classmate Phil Orno to form one of the most dangerous duo teams in the region as they have combined to go 12-3 this season. In addition, Hamning is 12-6 in singles play, while Orno has gone 14-6.

"Phil and Ryan feed off each other so well in doubles and their games compliment each other," Etzkin said.

Junior Rob Fox leads the team with 14 wins, earning his 60th career singles win in Sunday's win over Duquesne.