SPORTS DIGEST || YSU women’s tennis clinch share of HL title

YSU women’s tennis clinch share of HL title

The Youngstown State women’s tennis team clinched at least a share of the Horizon League title with a 4-3 win over UIC on Saturday at the Boardman Tennis Center. A YSU win over Valparaiso on Sunday will give the Penguins the outright crown. The Penguins won for the eighth straight time, a school record, to improve to 14-8 overall and 7-0 in the Horizon League. The victory was also the first over UIC (9-9, 5-2) at home in school history.

YSU opened the match strong winning two of three doubles matches. At No. 3, Sophia Macias Mendoza and Dominika Lackova picked up a 6-2 win. However, UIC knotted the doubles portion up with a 6-4 win at No. 2. At No. 1, Marta Burak and Julianna Heino won 6-4 to give the Penguins the point. At No. 1 and No. 3, the Penguins picked up impressive wins, but the Flames hung tough in the other four singles tilts. The first winner was Annina Brendel who won at No. 3. Brendel beat Oana Manole by a score of 6-1, 6-1 to improve to 6-1 in Horizon League play.

On her senior night, Burak closed out her match against Keti Mebuke by a score of 6-1, 6-2. It was the 29th straight conference win for her and 92nd of her YSU career.

The Penguins close out the regular season on Sunday morning against Valparaiso. The contest is slated for 9 a.m. at the YSU Tennis Courts.

O’Halloran to speak at Curbstone luncheon

30 Year veteran Boardman High School swimming and diving coach Terry O”Halloran will be the guest speaker Monday at the weekly luncheon of The Curbstone Coaches at Lucianno’s Banquet Center in the Wedgewood Plaza in Austintown. The event begins at noon and is open to the public.

Also, plans are underway for The Curbstone Coaches 48th annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on May 3rd at Mr. Anthony’s in Boardman.

Boxing Hall of Famer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini will be the featured speaker. Tickets are still available by contacting Mike Murray at 330-565-7820.

Justalittlesmoke wins Austintown Filly Sprint

Austintown

Justalittlesmoke ($5.80) posted her fourth consecutive victory as she captured the $75,000 Austintown Filly Sprint for three-year-old fillies Saturday afternoon at the Mahoning Valley Race Course. Sent right to the front from her inside post by jockey Terry Houghton, the Ohio bred daughter of Smoke Glacken dueled with the 1.70 to 1 race favorite Kathy’s Reward thru fractions of 23.72 & 47.82, then dug in when challenged by eventual runner-up Tetrad in the upper stretch and held that rival at bay to win by a hard fought neck. The running time for the six furlongs on a track labeled fast was 1:13.84.

Strong singles play lifts Penguins to win

The Youngstown State men’s tennis team used a strong singles performance to beat UIC 6-1 at the Boardman Tennis Center. YSU won all the singles matches, including two in three sets. The Penguins (8-11 overall and 4-1 in the Horizon League) fell behind UIC (6-11) after dropping two of the three doubles matches. At No. 4, Silviu Mistreanu had a successful senior night performance cruising to a win over Maurizio Feoli. At No. 1, Remi Chancerel caught fire late in the first set to knock off Isaac Lloveras 7-5, 6-1. Lloveras led for most of the first set before Chancerel closed strong and took that momentum into the second set.

Bassem El Mekawi fought through a sprained right ankle to earn his first Horizon League win of his career. El Mekawi won the first set and built a 4-1 lead in the second before spraining his right ankle. El Mekawi won the final two sets for the victory. The clincher was at No. 2 as Hugo Morth battled back for a three-set victory over Chris Cole.

The Penguins close out the regular season today when they take on Valparaiso.

Staff/wire reports