Cleveland State's Kuelker and Bush Collect Horizon League Tennis Weekly Honors

INDIANAPOLIS –Cleveland State senior Matt Kuelker (St. Louis, Mo.) is the Horizon League men’s tennis Player of the Week, while senior Alex Bush (Vienna, W. Va.) is the Horizon League women’s tennis Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 24-March 2.

The Cleveland State men’s tennis team went undefeated over the weekend facing Saint Louis on Friday and Southern Illinois Saturday. The Vikings defeated Saint Louis on the road 6-1 and captured the win at Southern Illinois 4-3 to mark six-straight victories for the squad.

Kuelker went undefeated in singles and doubles play over the two matches for Cleveland State. Against Saint Louis, he defeated Joe Flanagan at No. 2 singles in straight-sets 6-1, 6-2. With teammate Nolan Marks, the duo beat Patrick Kella and Luis Miguel Flores at No. 2 doubles 8-3. The following day at Southern Illinois, Kuelker won again in straight-sets at No. 2 singles against Michal Kianicka 6-1, 6-1. At No. 2 doubles with Marks, the pair won 8-4 over Jorge Cavero and Szymon Opieczonek.

The Vikings’ women’s team split weekend competition defeating Saint Louis 4-3 but fell to Southern Illinois 4-3.

Bush moved into ninth on the all-time wins list at Cleveland State with 52 career singles wins with her performances over the weekend. At No. 3 singles, she defeated Natalia Yacaman of Saint Louis in three sets 6-2, 2-6, 10-4. She teamed up with Princess Gbadamosi at No. 2 doubles to win 8-6 versus Aspen Cervin and Maria Toro. At Southern Illinois, Bush moved up to No. 2 singles and defeated Meagan Monaghan 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-4. With Gbadamosi at No. 2 doubles, the pair collected another win in an 8-5 victory over Korey Love and Anita Lee.

The Cleveland State men’s and women’s teams travel to Texas for its annual spring break trip where the squads will compete in three matches. The first match will be against Abilene Christian on Saturday, March 8.

Top Men’s Tennis Players of the Week:
Sebastian Hagn, Youngstown State (Sr.)—Collected wins at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles against Robert Morris to help the Penguins earn their first sweep of the season.

Top Women’s Tennis Players of the Week:
Marta Burak, Youngstown State (Jr.)—Recorded the sole win for the Penguins in singles and won at No. 1 doubles with teammate Margarita Sadovnika.
Dana Shannon, Milwaukee (So.)— Helped snap the Panthers’ five-match losing streak with a win at No. 4 singles and No. 1 doubles with teammate Diana Tokar.

Men’s Tennis Player of the Week:
Jan. 20: Silviu Mistreanu, Youngstown State
Jan. 27: Jorg van der Vloet, Cleveland State
Feb. 3: Ali Shabib, Cleveland State
Feb. 10: Leopold Gomez Islinger, Green Bay
Feb. 17: Jeffrey Schorsch, Valparaiso
Feb. 24: Matt Kuelker, Cleveland State

Women’s Tennis Player of the Week:
Jan. 13: Lauren Smith, Wright State
Jan. 20: Nino Sujashvili, Detroit
Jan. 27: Jana Knoppe, UIC
Feb. 3: Margarita Sadovnikova, Youngstown State
Feb. 10: Annina Brendel, Youngstown State
Feb. 17: Dominika Lackova, Youngstown State
Feb. 24: Alex Bush, Cleveland State