Viking SportS WeeklyVolume 2 • Number 27March 11, 2013

Willeford WinS eWl title at 125 poundS; earnS nCaa Bid

Women’s Basketball Begins Tournament Play at YSU ... page 2

Golf Teams Playing in Florida on Monday and Tuesday... page 2

Tennis Squads Take Spring Training Trip to Florida... page 2

Willeford Earns Viking of the Week Honors... page 3

WOMEN’S BASKETBAL The Vikings will begin Horizon League Tournament play this week, facing second-seeded Youngstown State in a quar-terfinal matchup on Wednesday (March 13) at 7:00 p.m. at the Beeghly Center. CSU, who enters the tournament as the No. 7 seed, stands at 13-16 this year and finished the regular season with a 5-11 league record. The winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal contest will face the winner No. 3 Loyola vs. No. 6 Milwaukee in a semifinal matchup on Friday, March 15. The two semifinal winners will face off in the championship game on Sunday, March 17. Shalonda Winton leads the league averaging 22.1 points per contest and ranks second in rebounding (10.6), while Cori Coleman ranks 13th in scoring (12.3) and Kiersten Green ranks 22nd (10.2). Winton also leads the league in blocked shots, averaging 1.3 blocks per contest.

What to WatCh forTHIS WEEK IN VIKING ATHLETICS | MARCH 11, 2013

Shalonda Winton

MEN’S GOLF The Vikings return to action on Monday and Tues-day (March 11-12) at the Benbow Invitational in Jack-sonville, Fla. Butler is serving as the host school. CSU started its spring campaign last month, going 1-2 at The Match Play at Reunion with a 7-0 win over Seton Hall and losses to DePaul and Marquette. Junior Andrew Bailey, the reigning Horizon League Player of the Year, sophomore Michael Balcar, junior Brendan Byrne, senior Jon Riemer and freshman Mike Bishop all won two of their three matches.

WOMEN’S GOLF CSU opens its spring season at the Benbow Invi-taitonal in Jacksonville, Fla., on Monday and Tuesday (March 11-12). Butler is serving as the host. TheVikingsplayedfive tournaments in the fall,includingarunner-upfinishattheCSUInvitational. Senior Ariel Sparrow posted a 79.0 scoring aver-ageinthefall,includinga73inthefirstroundoftheCSU Invitational, tied for the second lowest round in school history en route to runner-up honors at the event. Sparrowhadthreetop-20finishesinthefall.

SOFTBALL The Vikings will continue their spring break road trip this week, as they head to Jackson, Miss. for six games over three days at Jackson State. CSU is coming off a 2-3 weekend at Oklahoma State, a stretch that saw them pick up wins vs. Santa Clara (7-1) and Northern Iowa (5-4). Sophomore Erica McNew led the way with two home runs on the weekend. She is second on the team in batting average (.342) and hits (13), while leading the team in home runs (4).

WRESTLING CSU competed at the EWL Championships on Saturday in Edinboro, Pa., with two grapplers earning spots in the NCAA Championship. Junior 125-pounder Ben Willeford won two matches, including a pin in 4:32 in the title match, to become CSU’s first EWL champion since 2009. Heleads the team with 22 wins this season. Freshman heavyweight Riley Shaw will join Will-eford at nationals, after placing third at the EWL Cham-pionships.

MEN’S TENNIS The Vikings will close out their Florida roadswing this week, facing Stetson at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12. Over the weekend CSU dropped a pair of 6-1 contests to North Florida and Central Florida – fall-ing to 3-8 on the season. Matt Ford and Matt Kuelker picked up Cleveland State’s lone victories over the weekend, Ford at No. 6 singles against UNF and Kuelker at No. 2 singles against UCF. Ford and Kuelker each have 11 singles wins on the season.

WOMEN’S TENNIS Cleveland State will continue its Florida road-swing this week, facing North Florida on Monday (March 11) and Stetson on Tuesday (March 12). The Vikingsstandat6-5ontheseason,andhavewonfivestraight entering Monday’s contest. Maria Lazaris and Kara Sherwood lead the Vi-kingswithfivesingleswinsthisspring,whilethetrioof Alex Bush, Nicole Janek and Mathilde Orange each have four singles victories. For the 2012-13 season, Sherwood has a team-high 10 wins.

MEN’S SWIMMING Alex Lewis and Justin Hill represented Cleveland State at The Ohio State Last Chance Meet on Sunday, concluding CSU’s season. Lewiswassecondinthe100fly(48.79),whileHillwasfifthinthe50freefinalwithatimeof20.72.

Viking of the Week

Ben Willeford // WrestlingClass: Junior

Position: 125 Pounds Hometown: Baton Rouge, La.

laSt WeekWilleford, seeded third at the EWL Championships, captured the 125 pound title with a pair of wins and earned a berth in the NCAA Cham-pionships. Following a round one bye, Willeford earned a 6-4 win in the semifinals before picking up a fall in 4:32 in the championship match. Willeford, who leads CSU with 22 wins this season, is the first Viking to win an EWL crown since Rashard Goff in 2009.

thiS Week’S SChedule women’s BasketBallWeds. Mar. 13 at Youngstown State * (Quarterfinals) 7:00 p.m.Fri. Mar. 15 at HL Semifinals * (if win in quarters) TBASun. Mar. 17 at HL Championship * (if win semifinals) TBA

men’s GolfMon. Mar. 11 Don Benbow Invitational All DayTues. Mar. 12 Don Benbow Invitational All Day

women’s GolfMon. Mar. 11 Don Benbow Invitational All DayTues. Mar. 12 Don Benbow Invitational All Day

softBallThur. Mar. 14 at Jackson State (DH) 4:00 p.m.Fri. Mar. 15 vs. UTEP 2:00 p.m. vs. Mississippi Valley State 4:00 p.m.Sat. Mar. 16 vs. Mississippi Valley State 3:00 p.m. at Jackson State 5:30 p.m.

men’s tennisTues. Mar. 11 at Stetson 2:30 p.m.

women’s tennisMon. Mar. 11 vs. North Florida 2:00 p.m.Tues. Mar. 11 at Stetson 2:30 p.m.

* - Game can be seen live on the HORIZON LEAGUE NETWORK

laSt Week’S reSultSMar. 5 Men’s Basketball at UIC L, 82-59Mar. 7 Women’s Basketball at Wright State L, 61-53Mar. 8 Softball vs. Santa Clara W, 7-1 Softball vs. Northern Iowa L, 6-2Mar. 9 Men’s Tennis at North Florida L, 6-1 Women’s Tennis at Florida Atlantic W, 4-3 Softball at Oklahoma State L, 4-2 Softball vs. Northern Iowa W, 5-4 Wrestling at EWL Championships 6thMar. 10 Softball at Oklahoma State L, 10-1 Men’s Tennis at Central Florida L, 6-1

CsU soCial Media

twitterCSU Athletics ...........................@CSU_AthleticsMen’s Basketball .................... @CSUBasketballWomen’s Basketball........@CSUWBBVIKINGSCross Country .....................@CSUVIKINGSXCGolf ........................................ @CSUVikingsGolfMen’s Soccer ................................... @CSUSoccerWomen’s Soccer ..............@CSUWomensSoccerSoftball ...................................... @VikingSoftballSwimming & Diving .........@VikingswimmingVolleyball ...............................@ClevelandSt_VBWrestling ................................... @CSUWrestlingBerserker Club/Magnus ..... @Magnus_MascotSports Information ............................@CSUSID

faCeBookCSU Athletics ..................................CSUVikingsMagnus ................................Magnus the Mascot

Contact Cleveland State AthleticsSports Information Director

Greg Murphy // 216-687-5288Assistant Sports Information Director

Renee Adam // 216-687-5115Sports Information Intern

Jeff Sattora // 216-687-4818Director of Ticketing & Fan Development

Carrie Neville // 216-687-5440

YoutuBeCSU Athletics ............... ClevelandStAthletics

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