The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team faced a quick turnaround as it traveled from Youngstown to Cleveland for a morning match on Sunday, but the schedule was not enough to slow down the Crusaders, who rolled to a 7-0 victory over Cleveland State, a team picked to finish second behind Valpo in the Horizon League Preseason Poll.

How It Happened

• The Crusaders (16-1, 3-0 Horizon) continued to go back-and-forth with their doubles alignment, this time pairing Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) with Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) at No. 2. That duo took care of business, winning 6-2 against William Malm and Colton Buffington of Cleveland State (6-11, 1-1 Horizon).
• Kyle Dunn (Fond du Lac, Wis. / Fond du Lac) and Garrett Gardner (Poland, Ohio / Poland) once again got the nod at No. 3 doubles. They defeated Nico Mostardi and Kevin Goth 6-2.
• With the doubles point already decided, the match between Jeffrey Schorsch (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg) and Dave Bacalla (Skokie, Ill. / Niles North) and Mirko Radosevic and Benjamin Slade went unfinished at No. 1 doubles. Schorsch and Bacalla held a 5-4 lead when play was halted.
• Valpo’s top two singles players made quick work of the opposition. In seemingly the blink of an eye, the Crusaders held a 3-0 edge in the match. Schorsch was the first to finish, getting the best of Mostardi 6-0, 6-3 at No. 1. Kissell was equally as dominant against Buffington at No. 2, winning 6-3, 6-0.
• Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill. / Rockford Christian) returned to the lineup at No. 6 singles after sitting out on Saturday. He latched down the match-clinching point by beating Goth 6-2, 6-3.
• Dunn picked up a win by retirement at No. 5 singles, topping Malm 6-3 in the first set and leading 3-0 in the second set when the match ended.
• Bacalla prevailed at No. 4 singles, sweeping Slade 6-3, 6-4.
• The only three-set match of the day occurred at No. 3 singles, as Emhardt claimed a 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8) win over Radosevic.

Inside the Match

• The Crusaders lengthened their winning streak to 15 with the victory.
• Schorsch’s win allowed him to extend his winning streak to 13. He has not dropped a set all spring.
• Schorsch now owns 103 career singles wins, while Dunn and Emhardt remain tied for second in program history with 85 career singles wins apiece.
• Ancona is also in the midst of a winning streak, as he has nailed down nine consecutive singles triumphs.
• Kissell and Emhardt moved to 6-0 when playing together. Emhardt grabbed his 109^th career doubles win.

Next Up

The Crusaders will head to Murfreesboro, Tenn. for three nonleague matches this coming weekend. The first of those matches will be against UAB at 10 a.m. on Friday.