Men's Tennis 1/25/2018 7:43:00 PM Corey Miggins, Sports Information Director

CSU Tennis Hosts Green Bay, Travels to Cardinal Stritch This Weekend

The CSU tennis teams will battle a pair of teams from Wisconsin in doubleheaders this weekend.

CHICAGO – The Chicago State men's and women's tennis teams will compete in a pair of doubleheaders this weekend for the first time this season.

CSU welcomes Green Bay to the H-F Racquet & Fitness Club in Homewood, Ill., on Friday with the men playing at 1 p.m. and the women following at 3 p.m. CSU then hits the road on Saturday to take on Cardinal Stritch at the North Shore Elite Tennis Club in Glendale, Wis., with start time of 4 p.m.

The Cougars open this week's slate ready to build upon their 6-1 season-opening victory over St. Francis (Ill.) last Saturday at H-F. Seniors Rohan Wattley (Slough, United Kingdom/Burnham) and Christian Gonzalez (Mungia, Spain/Larramendi Ikastola) are tied for the team lead in singles victories with eight apiece. Wattley sits at 8-2 and has won his last four singles matches dating back to last fall, while Gonzalez is 8-4 in singles play and is five wins away from capturing CSU's D-I career record. In doubles, junior Felix Savard (Laval, QC Canada/Saint-Gabriel) has teamed with Gonzalez to post a team-best 5-4 record.

Green Bay heads into Friday's match looking to rebound from dropping its season opener last Sunday at DePaul after falling to the Blue Demons by a 5-2 margin. The Phoenix were led wins in the match by senior Florian Kraenzler and junior James Ling as both players earned singles wins and teamed up to capture a doubles victory at the No. 1 flight. Kraenzler is the top returning player for UWGB as he finished with a 10-7 record a year ago to capture First Team All-Horizon League honors.

Cardinal Stritch enters its season opener on Thursday with a road battle against host Northern Illinois in DeKalb, Ill. The Wolves finished the 2016-17 season ranked 10th in the NAIA national poll with a 17-5 dual-match record, captured the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference title with a perfect 9-0 mark and advanced to the second round of the 2017 NAIA National Tournament.

On the women's side, Chicago State is ready for some home cooking after opening its season last week with losses to Mid-American Conference foes Bowling Green (1-6) and Toledo (0-7) on the road. Freshman Iesha Shepherd (Nassau, Bahamas/Laurel Springs School) leads the Green and White with a 6-5 record in addition to teaming with senior Mariya Kostyuk (Kyiv, Ukraine/International School) to post a 7-7 doubles record.

Green Bay opens its season this week with a two-match road swing through Illinois beginning with Friday's match. The Phoenix return four letterwinners from last season's team, including a pair of seniors in Maria Neff and Samm Pedersen.

Stritch opens its home schedule on Saturday against the Cougars following an 16-6 dual match record a year ago while claiming its fourth consecutive CCAC title and finished 12th in the NAIA Coaches' National Poll. Like the men's team, the Wolves made it to the second round of the NAIA national tournament finishing with a 1-1 record.

The CSU women's team returns to the H-F Racquet Club on Sunday afternoon against IUPUI starting at 3 p.m., while the men's team hosts Eastern Illinois on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 1 p.m.

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