YSU roundup

women’s tennis

Penguins advance to Horizon finals

ann arbor, mich.

The Youngstown State women’s tennis team was impressive from start to finish in a 4-0 win over Detroit Mercy in the semifinals of the Horizon League Championships on Saturday at the Varsity Tennis Center.

The Penguins (15-8) have won nine straight matches and their last nine contests at the HL Championships. The Penguins will go for their fourth consecutive title today against either Cleveland State or Wright State. The championship match is set for 3 p.m. YSU is making its fifth straight conference-title match appearance.

YSU came out strong in doubles seizing the point in about 25 minutes. The Penguins had wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to go in front of the Titans.

The first singles match to conclude came at No. 2 as Noelly Longi Nsimba won 6-1, 6-3 over UDM’s Marie Maltrot.

At No. 1, Dominika Lackova won 6-3, 6-3 over Anna Davydova to give the Guins their third point of the dual.

The Penguins were close to clinching a pair of matches as Imaan Hassim and Nehel Sahni each had chances to wrap up the dual. Hassim was able to close out her match against Pauline Van Herck by a score of 6-1, 7-6. Shani was leading Nynke Van Der Goot 6-1, 6-5 when Hassim clinched.

men’s tennis

Penguins fall to Valpo in Horizon semifinals

Ann Arbor, Mich.

In a clash of the two hottest teams in the Horizon League, the Youngstown State men’s tennis team dropped a 4-3 contest to top-seed Valparaiso on Saturday morning at the Varsity Tennis Center.

The Penguins (19-8) split the six singles matches with the Crusaders (22-3), but Valpo claimed the early doubles point and was able to fight off YSU. Valpo will take on sixth-seed Cleveland State in the final today.

YSU battled all match long after losing the doubles point. Valpo picked up wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to go in front 1-0.

The Penguins came out strong in singles play winning the first two matches.

At No. 3, Thomas Rodrigues defeated Charlie Emhardt easily 6-0, 6-3 and moments later Danylo Veremeichuk finished off Chad Kissell by 6-3, 6-3 at No 2.

At No. 1, Mitch Maroscher hung tough agianst Horizon League Player of the Year Jeffrey Schorsch before losing 6-4, 6-3.

The Penguins picked up their third point when Joao Garretto won 7-6, 6-3 over Dave Bacalla.

Valpo won the final two singles matches as Brandon Ancona beat Yossi Dahan 6-4, 7-5 at No. 6 and Kyle Dunn defeated Luke Purser 7-6, 6-3 at No. 5 to rally for the win.

The Penguins won 19 dual matches for the year, setting a school record.

track and field

Zallow finishes 3rd in hurdles at Penn Relays

Chad Zallow finished third in the 110m hurdle championship race with a time of 13.84 seconds. Winning the event was Jamaica’s Ronald Levy with a time of 13.33 seconds while Syracuse’s Freddie Crittenden III was second at 13.44 seconds.

At the Ashland Alumni Open, three Penguins won events - Nicolette Kreatsoulas (hammer throw), Suzanne Koziol (steeplechase) and Chandler Killins (long jump).

Koziol won the steeplechase with a time of 11:27.68. Kreatsoulas won the hammer throw with a toss of 52.12m. Killins won the long jump with a leap of 5.10m. In the 4x400m relay, YSU had a winning time of 3:51.46.

baseball

Rainout pushes series finale to today

The series finale between Youngstown State and Valparaiso was postponed because of rain. The teams will conclude the series today, beginning at noon.

Alex Bellardini will start on the mound for the Penguins as they go for a sweep of the Crusaders.

Staff report