Franklin Athletic Club
HLN Detroit Preview With Jay Joshi

DETROIT (3/28/2014) -- After two weeks off, the Titans will jump right back into action with Horizon League play as the University of Detroit Mercy men's tennis team hosts Cleveland State and Youngstown State this weekend at the Franklin Athletic Club in Southfield.

Both matches are also part of a Titan tennis doubleheader with the women's team as the red, white and blue face the Vikings on Saturday and the Penguins on Sunday. The men's matches will begin at 6:00 p.m., while the women will face CSU with the same start time on Saturday and then battle YSU at 4:00 on Sunday.

Detroit (3-9) has been idle since its March 15 match-up at Michigan as the Titans split that weekend's action with a 4-3 win over Toledo. UDM's next six matches will all be against Horizon League foes with four of those at home.

Seven Titans have recorded singles victories so far on the season with freshman Patryk Koscielski still leading the team with a 9-9 record and sophomore Rafael Orantes just behind him at 8-8. Against the Rockets, Detroit was able to win its first doubles point of the season and the duo of Koscielski and senior Bobby Cawood currently pace the squad with a 3-4 record.

Cleveland State – the defending Horizon League champions – comes into the match at 9-6 and 2-0 in conference play with wins over Wright State (5-2) and Youngstown State (6-1).  The Vikings have actually won five of the last six HL championships.

Matt Kuelker leads the team in singles wins with a 20-8 mark, including 6-1 and 5-1 at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, while Manuel Bellutti is 17-9 playing mostly at No. 4 and No. 5.

The Titans are 0-7 against the Vikings since the program returned in 2008, which includes a near upset falling 4-3 in the conference championship semifinals last season.

Youngstown State is 3-11 on the year and 0-2 in the league losing to Cleveland State as well as Wright State (5-2). YSU has dropped five in a row, four by 7-0 scores, but the Penguins have played some common opponents with the Titans falling to Michigan (7-0), IPFW (4-3), Duquesne (5-2) and Toledo (6-1).

Sebastian Hagn leads the team in singles with a 13-12 record, while Zeeshan Ismail and Sharvil Nawghare have both posted 11 victories. In doubles, the tandem of Hagn and Dawoud Kabli top the team with a 14-9 ledger.

Detroit is 4-3 all-time against Youngstown State and upset the Penguins, 4-2, in the first round of the Horizon League championship last year.