Men's Tennis Opens Fall Season
    Vikings will travel to Indiana Invitational

    Sept. 15, 2009

    Contact: Martin Rickman

    MATCH 1

    Indiana Invitational
    Date: Friday, Sept. 18-Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009
    Time: All Day
    Site: IU Tennis Center (600) - Bloomington, Indiana

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    OPENING VOLLEY:  The Vikings begin their fall season on the road, as they travel to Bloomington, Ind. to participate in the Indiana Invitational from Friday to Sunday (Sept. 18-20). 

    PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State is attempting to return to the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row this season. Behind 2008 Horizon Player of the Year and 2009 All-Horizon first team selection Phil Orno (24-9 singles, 25-6 doubles) and first team All-Horizon player Ryan Hamning (19-9, 24-5), the Vikings went undefeated in conference play and drew 11th ranked Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The team returns seven players from a year ago, Orno, Hamning, spring Horizon Academic All-American junior Robert Fox (22-13, 16-14), sophomore Yannick Goossens (22-9, 22-8), junior Aris Spirtos (3-6, 5-5), junior Adam Perkins (3-6, 1-6) and junior Chris Klepatz (6-2, 2-2). 

    NO ONE LIKE ETZKIN: Entering his seventh season, head coach Brian Etzkin has taken the Cleveland State Vikings to new heights, bringing the first two conference championships and NCAA appearances in team history. Etzkin reached a personal milestone of his own last season, earning his 100th win in the Horizon League semi-final victory over Green Bay. The success of the Cleveland State program under Etzkin has earned him Horizon Coach of the Year honors in both 2007 and 2009. 

    FIGHTIN' PHIL: Phil Orno enters his senior season as one of the best in Cleveland State tennis history. The Horizon Player of the Year in 2008, Orno enters the season with 70 career singles and 74 career doubles wins to add to his three first team All-Horizon selections. Racking up the honors, Orno earned four Horizon League Player of the Week accolades in the 2008-09 season. 

    DOUBLE TROUBLE: Seniors Ryan Hamning and Phil Orno have established themselves as the premier doubles team in the Horizon League. The two went 23-5 as a pair in 2008-09 and were undefeated in conference play. 

    OUTFOXED: Junior Rob Fox is looking to build on a 2008-09 season which saw him named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team. Fox won 22 matches a year ago and solidified the back of the Viking lineup. During his freshman campaign, Fox carried a 15 match winning streak, a feat that earned him second team All-Horizon honors. 

    FRESH FACES: The Vikings bring in two newcomers this season who are expected to make an immediate impact. Freshman Jay Jones, a Pittsburgh, Pa. native was rated as high as 56th in the nation by the USTA his senior year. Transfer John Haley joins the Vikings after a distinguished junior college career. Haley earned first team All-American honors last season and won the No. 2 national doubles flight and is already familiar with Cleveland State as his brother Paul played at CSU from 2001-2005. 

    THE RETURN OF RYAN: Ryan Hamning was a winner the second he stepped on the Cleveland State campus and that showed as he won 28 singles and 28 doubles matches his freshman season. He followed that up with 19 doubles wins the next year and 24 a year ago. Paired with Phil Orno, Hamning  is just seven doubles wins away from 80 in his career.

    THE DUTCH ASSASSIN: Yannick Goossens had a solid freshman campaign that saw him win 22 singles matches on the year and 22 wins in doubles play as well. In the NCAA Tournament match against Kentucky, Goossens won his first set (6-4), but did not finish the match as the Vikings had lost 4-0.  

    UP NEXT: After a weekend in Bloomington, the Vikings will travel back to Indiana to particpate in the Ball State Invitational in Muncie from Friday to Sunday (Sept. 25-27).