10 Questions with Cleveland State's Matt Kuelker

INDIANAPOLIS--Each week, www.horizonleague.com talks with a Horizon League student-athlete who exemplifies integrity and excellence in both the classroom and on their respective playing field. This week, Cam Fuller caught up with Cleveland State senior tennis player Matt Kuelker. The Vikings, winners of two of the last three Horizon League Tennis Championships, recently completed their fall season at the ITA Midwest Regional.

Matt Kuelker
Year: Senior
Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.
High School: Christian Brothers Academy
Major: Business Administration

2013-14 Season Highlights
-Entered the 2013-14 season ranked sixth all-time at Cleveland State with 56 career singles wins.
-Pushed his career wins to 63 after posting a 7-6 singles record this fall.
-First Viking to advance to the Round of 32 in the main singles draw at the ITA Midwest Regional since 2009.

2012-13 Season Highlights
-Second Team All-Horizon League.
-Had a team-best 18-15 singles record.
-Went 5-1 at No. 2 singles against league opponents during the regular season.
-Cleveland State defeated Green Bay to win the Horizon League Men’s Tennis Champion.  

2011-12 Season Highlights
-Second Team All-Horizon League.
-Played the majority of the season at No. 2 singles, sporting a 16-18 season singles record.
-Finished the season with a team-best 15-15 doubles record.
-At the Horizon League Men's Tennis Championship, Green Bay defeated Cleveland State in the Championship match.  

2010-11 Season Highlights
-Tabbed the Horizon League Co-Newcomer of the Year, while also being named Second Team All-Horizon League.
-Posted a 22-12 singles record, including a 13-4 mark at the No. 3 slot.
-Just one of three players to post a perfect 7-0 record in League play.
-His 22 wins on the season is tied for fifth on the all-time single season wins list at Cleveland State.
-Went 17-17 in doubles action throughout the season, including a 5-2 league record.
-Cleveland State defeated Green Bay to win the Horizon League Men’s Tennis Champion.  

The fall season consists of invites and the ITA Midwest Regional. Since you’ve been on the team the Vikings have won two of the last three Horizon League Men’s Tennis Championships. How would you assess the team's play this fall?
We have pretty much the same team as last year with the exception of one new kid. We pretty much know what we’re going to have and now it’s getting everyone in the shape they were in last year to hopefully win the Horizon League again. Personally, I think it was one of my better fall seasons because I’ve been playing in the A Flight and I’ve beaten some pretty decent players and in the matches I lost I still played well. It was nice, this fall I was just hitting the ball and not worrying about messing up.

The Vikings have won five of the last six Horizon League crowns. What’s the goal for the upcoming spring season?
Just to win the Horizon League again, that’s always the main goal which gets us in the NCAA Tournament. I think we would like to win those matches during the year and be seeded number one and not come into the Horizon League tournament as an underdog.

After coming out of the gates with a 6-11 record last spring, the Vikings won six matches in a row to win the 2013 Horizon League Men's Tennis Championship. After a slow start to the season, how fulfilling was it to win the League Championship? 
The end of the year when we won the tournament was the greatest feeling, ever. For us, this is our biggest thing and what we play for all year and do all the stuff for even when we’re younger. It was by far the most fun I’ve ever had with tennis, by far. It wasn’t even close. We weren’t the favorite last year and the Horizon League as whole has gotten so much better and everyone is competitive now, it felt so much better and a bigger accomplishment then our previous League Championships.

The Vikings have faced Green Bay in the past three Horizon League Men's Tennis Championship matches. Would you say there’s a bit of a rivalry brewing between the two schools?
Definitely, for sure! Even when we are at other tournaments, I know we are wondering how they’re doing and they’re probably doing the same for us. You’re always kind of thinking and playing out matchups in your head and hopefully it will be us versus them in the finals this year.

The fall season is complete and the Vikings open the spring season on Jan. 24 at Western Michigan. What type of preparation is done between now and the team’s first spring match?
Now it’s more relaxed, more team building and conditioning. There isn’t an opportunity to hit as much with the cold weather. We are really big on becoming the best team we can, and we all get along really well.

Cleveland State has Western Michigan, Ball State, Penn State, Butler and SMU on the schedule this Spring. How do matches against quality non-League opponents prepare you for the Horizon League Men’s Tennis Championship in April?
It’s funny I always mess with my Coach [Brian Etzkin] and say “Coach, can’t you get us some easy matches. I want to get a ton of victories.” Last year he kept pounding it in our head that the harder the matches we play, once we get to the Horizon League when it actually matters we will be better off and much more prepared. After last year, he’s absolutely right. He’s taken that same angle again this year and scheduled as hard of matches as we can get. From the time I came on my visit until now the schedule has gotten so much stronger, there’s no easy team on the schedule.

You were tabbed Horizon League Co-Newcomer of the Year in the 2010-11 season; and each of the last three seasons you’ve been named Second Team All-Horizon League. What’s it going to take to elevate your game to the next level this spring?
First Team is usually players that play number one and the three years I’ve played I’ve played two and three in the lineup. Of course playing number one this year is cool, but I don’t really care, as long as our team is successful. Whatever number you play it really doesn’t matter, all the points are the same. Of course I want to play as good as I can for my last year; the biggest thing for me is just being relaxed and not thinking and just hitting the ball.

You’re a Business Administration major at Cleveland State. What’s been your most enjoyable business class?
A class I’m in right now called Organizational Theory and Design with Dr. Susan Storrud-Barnes. It’s not so much the class that’s cool, it’s the teacher. It was a last minute thing where they combined my class with a master’s class so the teacher only teaches masters degree classes. But it’s totally different, it’s all about discussion and she doesn’t go by a schedule with slides. It’s more a class discussion and I feel that sinks in better versus the teacher sitting there and talking.

Who is your funniest teammate?
That’s a tough one. I’d say Ali Shabib. He knows like nine languages, we call him the "international man of mystery." You never know what you’re going to get out of him. When he’s in rare form he can be hilarious.

You’re scheduled for graduation in May. What are your post-graduate plans?
I’m proud of myself to finish my degree in four years because I know it’s not that easy. My dad owns a business in St. Louis so hopefully go back and work with him for a little bit because he worked with his dad, so it’s been a family thing. But I also want to stay in tennis and teach and try to help other kids because I know I was helped a lot along the way, so I’d like to give back.