YSU women win Horizon tennis opener

INDIANAPOLIS — The favorites all held serve on the first day of the Horizon League tennis championships on Friday.

Among the winners was the Youngstown State women’s team, which as the No. 5 seed, defeated No. 8 seed Wright State, 4-0, in a first-round match at North Central High School.

The Penguins won three singles matches — Tanisha Welch defeated Jackie Garrett, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 4; Gretchen Cloern defeated Monica Capozziello, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 5, and Nicole Haralambopoulos defeated Kelsey Miles, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 6.

In doubles, Haralambopolous and Lauren Hankle defeated Jackie Garrett and Karina Presti, 8-5, at No. 2; and Anna Volkova and Tanisha Welc defeated Monica Capozziello and Kelsey Miles, 8-0, at No. 3.

Unfinished singles matches saw Sarah Lynch trailing Presti, 6-7 (7), 1-1, at No. 1; Hankle trailing Masha Peresetsky 3-6, 5-2, at No. 2, and Volkova trailing Kenisha Webb, 2-6, 2-2, at No. 3.

The No. 1 doubles match, between Lynch and Gretchen Cloern of YSU and Peresetsky and Webb of Wright State, was tied 8-8.

Each team earns one match point for each singles win, and one point for winning at least two of the three doubles matches, effectively making them best of seven.

Youngstown State advanced to meet No. 4 seed Cleveland State today at 9 a.m. Cleveland State defeated No. 9 Valparaiso on Friday.

In the other first-round match, Milwaukee defeated Green Bay, 4-2, advancing to meet No. 3 seed Detroit today.

The YSU-Cleveland State winner will meet No. 1 seed UIC at 2 p.m., while the Milwaukee-Detroit winner will play No. 2 seed Butler at 2. The championship match will be Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

If YSU loses to Cleveland State it will play the Milwaukee-Detroit loser in the fifth-place match today at 2 p.m.

If YSU beats Cleveland State and loses to Butler, it will play in the third-place match Sunday at 9 a.m.

The YSU men’s team lost to No. 1 seed Cleveland State, 4-0, in a first-round match Friday.

In singles play, Michael Kathary lost to Phil Orno of CSU, 6-5, 6-2, at No. 1; Tariq Ismail lost to Ryan Hamning, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 2, and Rob Emig lost to Rob Fox, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 5.

In doubles, CSU’s Orno and Hamning beat Ismail and Chris Leson, 8-1, at No. 1, and West and Yannick Goossens beat Kathary and Patrick Hamning, 8-5, at No. 2. The No. 3 doubles match between YSU’s Emig and Steve D’Angelo and Fox and Steven Wipprecht of CSU was suspended with the Penguins trailing, 8-7.

The unfinished singles matches saw CSU leading all three. At No. 3, YSU’s Hamning trailed Rob West 7-6 (4), 4-2; at No. 4, D’Angelo trailed Goossens 6-4, 5-2, and at No. 6, Leson trailed Wipprecht 6-2, 4-5.

YSU will play Wright State today at 4:30 p.m. in a consolation match. The winner advances to the fifth-place match Sunday at 9 a.m.