By Cameron Niemi / The Jambar
Rounding out March and kicking off April, the Youngstown State University men’s tennis team played three straight Horizon League matches on the road.
YSU traveled to play Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis on March 29. In the first match, the Jaguars won the match, 4-3, over the Penguins.
The Jaguars took a 1-0 lead as they won the doubles point. Junior Nathan Favier tied the match with a 6-3, 6-3 win in No. 1 doubles. IUPUI took the second singles match and regained the lead, 2-1.
Freshman Onder Balci secured a win in No. 3 singles in the third set, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Junior Harry Fouzas won in No. 4 with a 6-2, 7-6 victory. This gave YSU a 3-2 lead.
IUPUI went on to win two straight singles matches and take the win over YSU.
Youngstown State traveled to Kentucky to take on Northern Kentucky University on March 30. The Norse defeated the Penguins, 4-3, in another tight matchup.
YSU secured two wins in doubles to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Favier and Balci won their match in No. 1 doubles, 6-4. Fouzas and senior David Alvarez Moreno clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 victory in the third doubles match.
YSU went on to win two singles matches. Sophomore Nishant Dabas won in No. 2 singles, 7-5, 6-2. Fouzas took the No. 4 singles, 6-1, 6-2.
NKU went on to win four singles matches to secure the one-point match win over the Penguins.
Despite two straight losses against conference opponents, the Penguins will see both teams again before the end of the regular season.
The team’s match against Le Moyne College was canceled on April 4. Youngstown State traveled to Chicago for a match against Chicago State University on April 7.
The Penguins snapped their two-game losing streak in the Windy City and defeated CSU, 6-1. YSU completed its first sweep of the season with the win.
YSU took the doubles point with two wins as Balci and Dabas won their match, 6-3. Favier and senior Asier Pena Ibanez took a 6-4 victory.
The Penguins went on to win five of six singles matches. Dabas, Balci, Fouzas, Alvarez Moreno and Pena Ibanez all won their matches helping the team secure the victory.
With the win, Youngstown State moved to 2-3 in conference play and 8-9 overall on the season. The team currently sits in third place in the Horizon League with three matches left in the season.
Youngstown State will return to the YSU Indoor Tennis Center at 11 a.m. on April 13 against NKU and at 11 a.m. on April 14 against IUPUI for senior night.
