Jan. 23, 2012

Cleveland State / Detroit

The men's tennis team opened the spring portion of its schedule on Jan. 20 with a 4-3 victory at Cleveland State. Aram Abgaryan clinched the match-winning fourth point at number one singles for the Dukes with a 7-6(2), 6-2 decision.

Also winning at singles were Max Rubin at number three and Rich Robbie at fifth singles. The Red and Blue also captured the doubles point as Abgaryan and Ben Klaas won 8-5 at first doubles and Rubin and Pete Carpenter won at number two, 8-4.

The Dukes continued west on Jan. 21 and suffered a 4-3 loss at Detroit. Abgaryan, Carpenter and Robbie won at 1-2-3 singles while Robbie combined with Alex Aleman to win 8-3 at second doubles.

Robbie went 4-0 on the weekend while Abgaryan went 3-1 and Rubin went 2-0.

"I was pleased with how we started things off this spring season," said head coach Rob Castille. "We hadn't beaten Cleveland State since 2006 so this was a good win against a solid team."

"Against Detroit Mercy, we came up just short but I was proud of the way the guys fought," he continued. "Overall, we can take a lot of positives away from this weekend and look to keep improving."

The Dukes return to action on Friday, Jan. 27 as they host James Madison at 12:30 pm at The Club Sport and Health in Monroeville.