Hamning, Orno and Goossens to Compete at All-American Championships
    Trio Heads to Tulsa for National Event
    Yannick Goossens

    Yannick Goossens

    Oct. 2, 2009

    Contact: Greg Murphy

    CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State men's tennis players Ryan Hamning, Phil Orno and Yannick Goossens are traveling to Tulsa, Okla., with head coach Brian Etzkin this weekend to compete in the prestigious D'Novio ITA All-American Championships from Oct. 3-11 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.

    It marks the fifth straight year that Tulsa is hosting the event, which is the first national singles and doubles event of the 2009-10 season.

    "This isn't something we do every year, but I feel we have some players who can compete on this level," Etzkin said. "This will give our guys a chance to play some of the top players from all over the country and see where their games are right now. I feel that all three of our players are capable of advancing to the main draw if they play to the best of their abilities.

    The All-American Championships begins with a 256-player pre-qualifying singles tournament on Oct. 3-4. The pre-qualifying feeds into a 128-player qualifying tournament on Oct. 5-7, which then leads into the 64-player main draw from Oct. 8-11.

    Orno, a senior, enters the event with a 6-3 singles mark this fall and is coming off a victory at the Ball State Invitational in the "A" flight. He became the first player in program history to win an "A" singles flight in school history. The 2007-08 Horizon League Player of the Year, Orno recently broke the CSU record for most career singles wins and now stands at 75.

    Hamning is 6-2 in singles play this fall, advancing to the Ball State Invitational "A" flight semifinals before falling to Orno last weekend. Two weeks ago, the senior dropped his first match at the Indiana Invitational before rallying to win three straight in the backdraw. Hamning's 70 career singles wins are the third most in school history, just two shy of taking over second place.

     

     

    Goossens, a sophomore, is the youngest Viking to be competing at the All-American Championships. He has posted a 3-4 singles mark this fall, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Ball State Invitational "A" flight singles last weekend.

    Live stats, video and draw updates can be viewed at www.tulsahurricane.com.

    In other tennis news, Etzkin announced team captains for both the men's and women's teams earlier this week. Orno and Hamning will serve as co-captains for the men's squad, while senior Sanda Bjelan is the women's team captain.

    "Phil and Ryan both have different strengths that they bring to the team," Etzkin said. "They have great leadership styles and will do a tremendous job leading our team this year.

    "Sanda is well respected by her teammates and is well deserving of the honor," Etzkin continued. "She does everything right, works hard and stands up for everyone on the team."