Gibbons & Lazaris To Play In Back Draw Finals
    Duo Wins Two Matches Each On Saturday
    Charlotte Gibbons won two singles matches on Saturday

    Charlotte Gibbons won two singles matches on Saturday

    Sept. 27, 2009

    Contact: Brian McCann

    EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Freshman Maria Lazaris and senior Charlotte Gibbons each won a pair of singles matches to advance to the championship match of the back draw to highlight the second day of play for Cleveland State at the Spartan Invitational.

    "This was a pretty good day for us," CSU head coach Brian Etzkin said. "The competition is tough and we played a lot of tennis which is good for this team. Most importantly, with five freshmen and sophomores on the roster, this team is learning to play together and becoming a cohesive unit.

    "This weekend will go a long way towards getting us ready for the spring. The team is spending a lot of time with each other and I can already see that we are more of a team than we have been in the past."

    After losing a tough opening round decision on Friday, Gibbons bounced back on Saturday to defeat Evansville's Payal Sharma, 6-1, 6-0, and Jessica Azoulay from Toledo, 6-0, 6-3, to advance to the back draw final on Sunday.

    In the back draw of the White Single Draw, Lazaris claimed straight set wins over Ashton Schwerin from Evansville, 6-3, 6-2 and IPFW's Katie Brien, 6-0, 6-1, to also advance to the back draw final.

    "Charlotte has played pretty good tennis this weekend and especially today," Etzkin said. "Maria is getting a good indoctrination into college tennis. She was the last player on the court today and I know she was tired because she played two singles and two doubles matches, but that was a great exercise in mental toughness and she came through it pretty well."

    Gibbons and Lazaris will be the only Vikings competing on Sunday as CSU went 4-2 in singles and 2-2 in doubles on Saturday.

    Spartan Invitational
    Day Two Results

     

     

    Singles Blue Draw (Main Draw)
    Cara Wald (Miami) def. Sanda Bjelan (CSU), 6-3, 6-1
    (Bjelan eliminated from draw)

    Singles Blue Draw (Back Draw)
    Charlotte Gibbons (CSU) def. Payal Sharma (Evansville), 6-1, 6-0
    Gibbons (CSU) def. Jessica Azoulay (Toledo), 6-0, 6-3
    (Gibbons advances to Back Draw finals)

    Singles Red Draw (Back Draw)
    Megan Martzolf (Miami) def. Catrine Bjerrehus (CSU), 6-3, 6-1
    (Bjerrehus eliminated from draw)

    Singles White Draw (Back Draw)
    Maria Lazaris (CSU) def. Ashton Schwerin (Evansville), 6-3, 6-2
    Lazaris (CSU) def. Katie Brien (IPFW), 6-0, 6-1
    (Lazaris advances to back draw final)

    Doubles Green Draw (Back Draw)
    Flankova/S. Sundstrom (Detroit) def. Bjelan/Denisa Muntean (CSU), 8-2

    Bjerrehus/Lazaris (CSU) def. Chybowski/Kotsiov (Evansville), 8-4
    Flankova/S Sundstrom (Detroit) def.

    Doubles Elimination Round
    Gibbons/Janek (CSU) def. Handler/Zinn (Xavier), 8-6