Bruins Advance to Horizon League Championship Semifinals with 4-1 Win Over Cleveland State

MASON, Ohio – In a rematch of last year's Horizon League Championship final, the Belmont University men's tennis team defeated Cleveland State 4-1 in the first round of the 2026 Horizon League Championship Friday morning at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio. The Bruins, the No. 3 seed in the Horizon League South Division, put together an impressive singles performance after dropping the doubles point. Belmont (10-11, 3-3 Horizon) won four-straight singles matches, including a trio in straight sets, to cement its spot in Saturday morning's semifinals.
 
The Vikings, the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League North Division, took a 1-0 lead in the match with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Cleveland State's Lincoln Battle and Carl Gedlitschka earned a 6-2 win at the top of the doubles lineup, while the Vikings' Nico Jamison and Cole Chappell secured a 6-3 triumph at third doubles.
 
Sophomore Charlie Robin and graduate Will Ecklund led Cleveland State's Maxime Aremon and Tristan Stine 4-3 at second doubles when the opening point was clinched.
 
Both junior Stefan Vedovelli and sophomore Morgan Woodson came out determined in singles action, winning by identical 6-3, 6-3 scores on courts one and four, respectively. At the top of the singles lineup, Vedovelli took out Battle as Woodson handled Aremon at the fourth spot.
 
Robin was the Bruins' next straight-set winner, dismissing Jamison 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3 singles.
 
Court No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 all stretched to third sets. The Vikings (14-11, 4-2 Horizon) bounced back from sets down on all three courts following opening set wins by senior Sabi Roi, Ecklund and senior Eli Mizerski.
 
It was Roi who finished off the match at second singles, defeating Gedlitschka 6-2 in the third after the two split 6-2 sets.
 
Mizerski led Cleveland State's Devin Boyer 2-1 in the third set at the sixth spot when Roi closed things out. At No. 5 singles, Ecklund trailed Chappell 3-1 in the third when Belmont won the match.
 
Up Next
The Bruins advance to take on No. 1 South Division seed Tennessee Tech Saturday at 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET. The two teams met twice during the regular season, including last Saturday afternoon indoors at Vanderbilt's Lummis Family Tennis Center in Nashville. Live scoring of the Horizon League Championship semifinal match will be available.
 
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