By John Ostapowicz
The Youngstown State University men and women’s tennis team picked up victories en route to an action-packed three-day endeavor, Feb. 3 to 5.
The men’s team started the day strong in its double-header on Feb. 3, against St. Francis College-Brooklyn inside the YSU Indoor Tennis Center. With the match deadlocked at 3-3, the Penguins rallied late over the Terriers at No.5 defeating SFCB, 4-3.
Youngstown State fell early to St. Francis in doubles matches, with the lone victory coming from senior Will Everett and senior Javi Pla, 6-3 at No. 2.
In singles matches, junior David Alvarez Moreno forced the tiebreaker at No. 5. Moreno was down 6-5 in the third set but won the next two points to force a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, he secured a three-point lead and claimed a 7-5 win over graduate student Luis Foix Sotos.
Later in the day, the Penguins found their rhythm against Duquesne University, shutting out the Dukes, 7-0.
Youngstown State picked up the doubles point early on at No. 2 and No. 3 and proceeded to win five of the six singles contests in straight sets.
To round out the day, senior Laurentiu Mandocescu, sophomore Nathan Favier and Pla. Each walked away with two wins during the double-header.
Finishing out the three-match homestand, the Penguins went to work against The United States Naval Academy on Feb. 5.
The men’s team picked up a 6-1 victory over Navy after sweeping matches in singles.
In singles matches, senior Laurentiu Mandocescu, junior Asier Pena Ibanez, Favier, Everett, Pla and Moreno, all won in straight sets.
The men’s tennis team is back in action Feb. 10, as it travels to Washington, D.C., to take on Georgetown University.
The women’s team had a tough match against the University of the Pacific on Feb. 3 in Las Vegas. The Penguins dropped a 5-2 decision to the Tigers, with the two wins coming from singles matches.
In doubles, the lone victory of the day came from graduate student Cecilia Rosas and junior Maria Oliveira at No. 2, 7-6. The Tigers claimed the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3.
In singles matches, graduate student Moka Ito and junior Eliska Masarikova picked up straight set victories at No. 2 and No. 5.
The Penguins looked to bounce back against Weber State University, but fell short 6-1 on Feb. 4.
In singles matches, Ito clinched the single win of the day for Youngstown State at No. 4, 7-6 and 7-5, in two sets.
The final day of competition, Feb. 5, was canceled because of inclement weather.
The women’s tennis team is back in action, Feb. 10 and 11 against the State University of New York at Buffalo and Ball State University inside the YSU Indoor Tennis Center.
