A Look at the Week Ahead For Cleveland State Vikings Athletics

A LOOK AT WHAT’S HAPPENING

WOMEN’S GOLF
•    Cleveland State returns to action at the Butler Spring Invitational on Monday and Tuesday (March 21-22) at Prestwick Country Club in Avon, Ind.
•    The Vikings have been out of competitive action since playing at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate from Feb. 28 through March 1. Allyson Hackman leads the team with a 78.8 scoring average, while Rayna Oosterhuis is averaging 79.1 per round.

SOFTBALL
•    The Vikings (5-16) return home for the first time in six weeks when CSU hosts Niagara for a doubleheader on Friday (March 25) at 1:00 pm. The games are slated to be played at Viking Field.
•    CSU wrapped up a 17-game roadswing with five games last week, including two at Baylor, two at UT-Arlington and one at Memphis. The Vikings earned a 5-4 win in the second game at Baylor, which entered the game ranked 21st in the country.
•    Susan Knight hit .400 (6-15) over the five games last week with three runs and six RBI.

MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
•    Philipp Sikatzki will represent Cleveland State at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships this week, competing in the 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle.
•    Sikatzki is the first Viking to earn an invitation to the NCAA Championship since the 2008-09 season.
•    The 100 fly and 100 back will take place on Friday, March 25, with prelims starting at 10:00 a.m. and finals beginning at 6:00 p.m. The 100 free will be contested on Saturday, March 26.
•    Live results and live video will be available for prelims and finals.

MEN’S TENNIS
•    The Vikings (9-7) will return home to begin Horizon League play this weekend, hosting Northern Kentucky at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday (March 26) in their lone contest of the week.
•    Earlier this season Cleveland State was selected to finish third in the preseason Horizon League poll, picking up 37 points among the league’s eight teams.
•    The Vikings went 1-2 over their annual Spring Break Trip, led by senior Joe VanMeter who was named the Horizon League Player of the Week after recording his 70th career singles victory against Army – becoming the seventh Viking all-time to record 70 career wins.

WOMEN’S TENNIS
•    Cleveland State (4-7) will kickoff the Horizon League portion of its schedule this weekend, hosting Wright State (Friday, March 25) and Northern Kentucky (Saturday, March 26) in a pair of matches.
•    CSU dropped a pair of contests at Florida Tech and UCF last week – with Aleksandra Golawska picking up Cleveland State’s lone point with a No. 5 singles win against Florida Tech.

WRESTLING
•    Sam Wheeler and Riley Shaw competed at the NCAA Championships last week with both grapplers posting 2-2 records and advancing to the round of 16.
•    Wheeler defeated the 11th and 12th seeds at 197 pounds, while Shaw earned a win over the 13th seeded heavyweight.
•    Both Shaw and Wheeler finished the year with 30 wins, while Shaw concluded his career with 102 wins and was just the 19th CSU wrestler to qualify for nationals three times.

VIKING OF THE WEEK

Sam Wheeler, Senior, Wrestling, Copley, Ohio

Wheeler posted a 2-2 record at the NCAA Championships in New York City with wins over the No. 11 and No. 12 seeds. Wheeler, who was making his second career appearance at nationals, advanced to the round of 16 at 197 pounds. He finished the year tied for the team lead with 30 wins.

OTHER TOP PERFORMERS

Riley Ries: The softball freshman hit a grand slam in the seventh inning at Memphis to force extra innings. It was her first career homer.

Riley Shaw: The wrestling senior went 2-2 at the NCAA Championships, advancing to the round of 16. It was his third appearance at nationals.

Benjamin Slade: The men’s tennis freshman led CSU to a 5-2 victory over Florida Tech, winning his 10th singles match this spring with a victory at No. 5 singles.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

MONDAY, MARCH 21
Women’s Golf at Butler Invitational, 10:00 am

TUESDAY, MARCH 22
Women’s Golf at Butler Invitational, 9:00 am

FRIDAY, MARCH 25
Men’s Swimming at NCAA Championship, All Day
Women’s Tennis at Wright State, 12:00 pm
Softball hosts Niagara (DH), 1:00 pm

SATURDAY, MARCH 26
Men’s Swimming at NCAA Championship, All Day
Women’s Tennis hosts Northern KY, 10:00 am
Men’s Tennis hosts Northern KY, 2:00 pm