By Kevin Skolny / The Jambar
The Youngstown State University women’s tennis team traveled to Cleveland State University on Oct. 17 for the three-day Viking Invitational.
There were four schools in attendance at the event, including the host Cleveland State, the Penguins, Bowling Green State University and Duquesne University.
The ’Guins left with a total of 11 singles and six doubles victories, as the event concluded at the Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion.
Leading the way for the Penguins was senior Lili Minich, as she defeated every opponent she faced. First, she defeated Cleveland State senior Tereze Vevere in two straight sets, winning the first six games to three. In the second set, Minich and Vevere entered a tiebreaker after each winning six games, where Minich would win the penultimate game by a score of seven to four, sealing her first match of the invitational.
Minich would go on to win each of her remaining two matches against Duquesne sophomore Sofia Serrano six games to two, and Falcons sophomore Tia Clemens six games to one in the first set, and six games to three in the second set.
The Penguins won multiple matches over the three-day tournament, as senior Ghada Diringer and sophomore Yeseniia Ovcharova both won two matches.
In doubles, junior Line Greyling was a part of three different winning pairs.
Greyling’s first duo win included freshman Lydia Foster, as the two defeated the Vikings duo of freshman Jenna Redmile and senior Filippa Frogner in a final of six games to three.
The next doubles match saw Greyling paired with Ovcharova, as the two defeated senior Ellie Hire and freshman Isabella Norris from the Falcons in six straight games.
Greyling had her final pairing with sophomore Laura Cedeno, as the two faced off against Dukes’s junior Taisia Yakunina and Serrano. Greyling and Cedeno emerged as winners after the matchup.
For the Penguins, Minich moves up to second on the team for singles wins with seven, right behind senior Julia Marko with 10. As for Greyling, her record in doubles moves up to 4-4 after a strong weekend, putting her tied in second on the team with other ‘Guins.
The Penguins will conclude their season Nov. 8 at the California State University-Northridge fall invitational.