The Chicago State women's tennis team earned a share of the Horizon League regular season title with a 5-1 record and will be the No. 3 seed in the Horizon League Women's Tennis Championship held Friday-Sunday, April 26-28 at the Schwartz Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The conference title is the first for Chicago State in women's tennis who share the crown with Cleveland State and Youngstown State with identical 5-1 records. Following the league's tiebreaker format, Cleveland State earned the No. 1 seed, Youngstown State No. 2 and the three-seeded Cougars will face No. 6 Oakland on Friday, April 26 at 2 p.m. CT.
"We are very excited about being in the tournament," head coach
Jack Barton said. "This league is one of the best mid-majors in terms of depth and competitiveness. To have three teams go 5-1 and we get the three seed shows how every match matters. We wish we could have gotten a first-round bye, but we are going to play the hand that is dealt. The top two seeds earned it."
The Cougars enter tournament play with a four-match win streak and have won 10 of their last 11 matches.
Chicago State and Oakland played in the quarterfinals last year, had the same seeds as this year, and Chicago State escaped with a 4-3 win. CSU and Oakland opened conference play this season with the Cougars earning a 7-0 victory over the Golden Grizzlies on March 29 in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Oakland went 1-5 in conference play with the lone win coming against IUPUI.
"Our goal is to win the tournament, but we won't look past Oakland," Barton said. "They have to tools to give us a fight so we have to be ready and take it one round at a time."
If Chicago State earns the quarterfinal win against Oakland, the Cougars would advance to the semifinals and face No. 2 Youngstown State on Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m. The Cougars would be looking to avenge their only conference loss of the season when YSU handed Chicago State a 5-2 setback on April 6 in Homewood. YSU, the defending tournament champion, will enter the match with a five-match win streak.
"It is a bit surreal to be regular season conference champions, and I don't think it has really sunk in for the ladies and myself. That can be good, because we still have work to do, but it is an incredible accomplishment by these ladies. We wanted to make the university proud and represent our department and families with as much class and humility as we can. This is a not only a great achievement for our department, but this is something we want the entire university to be proud of."
The Horizon League Tournament bracket is
HERE
The following are the final regular season standings and conference tournament schedule:
2024 Horizon League Women's Tennis Standings
5-1 Cleveland State
5-1 Youngstown State
5-1 Chicago State
3-3 Milwaukee
2-4 Northern Kentucky
1-5 Oakland
0-6 IUPUI
Top six teams advance to the 2024 Horizon League Women's Tennis Championship
2024 Horizon League Women's Tennis Championship
Schwartz Tennis Center
West Lafayette, Indiana
April 26-28
April 26
Friday No. 4 Milwaukee vs. No. 5 Northern Kentucky 2p CT
Friday No. 3 Chicago State vs. No. 6 Oakland 2p CT
April 27
Saturday No. 1 Cleveland State vs. 4/5 Winner 2p CT
Saturday No. 2 Youngstown State vs. 3/6 Winner 2p CT
April 28
Sunday Championship 2p CT ESPN+
About Chicago State Athletics
Chicago State University sponsors 16 Division I intercollegiate athletic teams and competes in the Northeast Conference (effective July 2024) with the exception of men's and women's tennis who will compete in the Horizon League during the 2024-25 season. CSU's athletic program includes over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, triathlon and volleyball.
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