Cleveland State, Green Bay to Meet for Horizon League Men's Tennis Crown

INDIANAPOLIS -- The top two seeds in the Horizon League Men's Tennis Tournament will meet for the League's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament after Cleveland State and Green Bay each swept their competition on Friday morning.  The top-seeded Vikings knocked off UIC, 4-0, while the No. 2 Phoenix took care of Wright State, 4-0.

With matches moved indoors due to morning temperatures under 50 degrees, Cleveland State knocked off a League opponent for the 33rd consecutive match.  The Vikings made quick work of the Flames in doubles action, with Yannick Goossens and Chris Klepatz cruising to an 8-2 win at No. 2 before Rob Fox and John Haley teamed up to take an 8-5 victory at No. 1.

Goossens and Fox continued their strong play into singles action, where Goossens breezed in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.  After Matt Kuelker picked up a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3, it was left to Fox to close out the match, and the senior did so with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph.

Cleveland State will meet a Green Bay squad it defeated, 4-3, in Green Bay just under a month ago.  The Phoenix dominated singles play against Wright State, never looking back after collecting doubles wins at Nos. 2 and 3.  Craig Cox and Paul Swanson got the ball rolling, putting a 'W' in the ledger, 8-3, at No. 3.  Erik Finkenbrink and Josh Oothoudt collaborated on the clinching match, grabbing three breaks en route to the 8-4 victory.

Cox and Swanson each moved seamlessly into singles, with Cox collecting the first of Green Bay's three points with a 6-4, 6-3 win.  Christoph Hopfe then picked up a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 4, setting the stage for Swanson to seal the result with a 6-0, 6-4 triumph at No. 3.

The Vikings and Phoenix will meet at 9 a.m. ET at North Central High School on Saturday, April 23.  HorizonLeague.com will stream the match live, weather permitting.  Wright State and UIC will also play at 9 a.m. for third place.

In the backdraw, Butler downed Youngstown State, 4-2, to claim fifth.

(1) Cleveland State 4, (4) UIC 0
Horizon League Men's Championship Semifinals | Indianapolis (West Indy Racquet Club)
Doubles:
No. 1 - Rob Fox/John Haley (CSU) def. Alex Raa/Dave Robare (UIC) 8-5
No. 2 - Yannick Goossens/Chris Klepatz (CSU) def. Alan Reifer/Scott Shepardson (UIC) 8-2
No. 3 - Matt Kuelker/Matt Ford (CSU) vs. Luiz Gonzaga/Rahul Kamath (UIC 5-5 DNF

Singles:
No. 1 - Yannick Goossens (CSU) def. Alex Raa (UIC) 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 - Rob Fox (CSU) def. Luiz Gonzaga (UIC) 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 - Matt Kuelker (CSU) def. James Li (UIC) 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 - Chris Klepatz (CSU) vs. Dave Robare (UIC) 7-5, 6-5 DNF
No. 5 - Alan Reifer (UIC) vs. John Haley (CSU) 7-5, 1-3 DNF
No. 6 - Matt Ford (CSU) vs. Gauthan Oroskar (UIC) 6-4, 5-2 DNF
    Singles order of finish: 3-1-2

(2) Green Bay 4, (3) Wright State 0
Horizon League Men's Tennis Championship Semifinals | Indianapolis (Butler Bubble)
Doubles:
No. 1 – Fabian Gogolin/Christoph Hopfe (GB) vs. Jan Alafriz/Brian Dredge (WSU) 7-5 DNF
No. 2 – Erik Finkenbrink/Josh Oothoudt (GB) def. Landon Neuman/Evan Neuman (WSU) 8-4
No. 3 – Craig Cox/Paul Swanson (GB) def. Riyad Bennoui/Hayden Joblin (WSU) 8-3

Singles:
No. 1 – Erik Finkenbrink (GB) vs. Jan Alafriz (WSU) 4-6, 7-6(2), 1-1 DNF
No. 2 – Craig Cox(GB) def. Hayden Joblin (WSU) 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 – Paul Swanson (GB) def. Martin Arguello (WSU) 6-0, 6-4
No. 4 – Christoph Hopfe (GB) def. Landon Neuman (WSU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 – Brian Dredge (WSU) vs. Fabian Gogolin (GB) 3-2 DNF
No. 6 – HenningJess(GB) vs. Michal Lyzwa (WSU) 2-1 DNF
    Singles order of finish: 2-4-3

(5) Butler 4, (6) Youngstown State 2
Horizon League Men's Tennis Championship Fifth-place Match | Indianapolis (North Central H.S.)
Doubles:
No. 1 – Chris Herron/David Dolins (BU) def. Tariq Ismail/Max Schmerin (YSU) 8-5
No. 2 – Brandon Bayliss/Lenz Theodor (BU) def. Felipe Rosa/Rodrigo Campos (YSU) 8-3
No. 3 – Ben Shafer/Zach Ervin (BU) vs. Zeeshan Ismail/Rob Emig (YSU) DNF

Singles:
No. 1 – Brandon Bayliss (BU) vs. Tariq Ismail (YSU) DNF
No. 2 – Chris Herron (BU) def. Felipe Rosa (YSU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 – Zach Ervin (BU) def. Max Schmerin (YSU) 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 – Lenz Theodor (BU) def. Zeeshan Ismail (YSU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 – Rodrigo Campos (YSU) def. David Dolins (BU) 6-7(2), 6-0, 1-0(4)
No. 6 – Rob Emig (YSU) def. Brad DiCarlo (BU) 6-2, 6-1