Mark Klysner is in his third season as the men's head coach and second season as the women's head coach for the Penguins. He has turned the men's program into one of the elite in the Horizon League and is poised to do the same for the women.

In 2011-12, Klysner was in his first campaign as the head coach for both programs.

On the women's side, freshman Marta Burak had a standout campaign. Just 16 years old, Burak posted a 19-9 overall mark and went 7-1 in Horizon League action at the No. 1 position. She was a first-team all-league selection and was tabbed the HL's Newcomer of the Year. Junior Lauren Hankle was named to the league's second-team unit.

For the men, Youngstown State won nine dual matches and tied for third place in the Horizon League with a 4-3 mark. The Penguins picked up their first ever win over Butler in the regular season and also defeated defending league champion Cleveland State. Freshman Silviu Mistreanu was a first-team all-league selection.

In Klysner's first two seasons, the men have won six Horizon League matches. In the previous nine years, the Penguins combined to win just three.

During the summer of 2012, he spent six weeks in Europe working with various junior players. He was one of six NCAA coaches selected to participate in the summer touring event.

In his first year with the YSU men's tennis program Klysner led the team mutliple Horizon League wins for the first time, had an individual named first-team all-conference and the Penguins played two hard-fought matches at the league tournament. The improvements showed the program is quickly on the rise in just a short time.

The Penguins had not won a league match since March 2005 before beating Valpariaso and Detroit during the spring. The two wins were the most in a single campaign since joining YSU joined the league. Entering the 2010-11 campaign, the Penguins had won three total league matches since 2001.

Tariq Ismail was named first-team All-Horizon League following a stellar campaign. Ismail won 20 matches and became the first Penguin since 2005 to be named first-team all-conference.

In the League Championships, YSU dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision to Wright State and battled Butler before losing 4-2.

The program also earned the Horizon League "Raise Your Sights" Team Award for highest men's team cumulative GPA at YSU.

Prior to taking over the YSU program before 2010-11, he had been an assistant at the Divison I for two seasons.

Klysner was an assistant for both the men's and women's programs at Fairleigh Dickinson in 2009-10. The Knights' women's team won the regular-season conference title and had won 10 straight matches before losing in the Northeast Conference Tournament final. The men's team placed second in the NEC.

He spent the 2008-09 campaign as a men's and women's assistant at Austin Peay.

Klysner was the head men's and women's tennis coach at Green River Community College in Auburn, Wash., for two seasons (2006-08). His men's team went undefeated twice, winning two regular-season titles and the 2007 NWAACC Championship.

He also was the assistant men's and women's tennis coach at the University of South Carolina at Aiken in 1999-2000.

Klysner has worked in many country clubs, tennis clubs, and has coached in the Canadian National Junior Program in Manitoba. He spent eight years as the assistant tennis pro at Bally's Total Fitness in Federal Way, Wash.

He has a solid tennis background as a teacher (15-plus years) and an event organizer. Klysner has hosted numerous junior and high school tournaments while continuing to teach private lessons. He has assisted and coached more than 40 top juniors, who have gone on to play Division I tennis. He is currently a private coach for several top junior players and was a personal coach for WTA player Clelia Del Tour. Klysner has also seen time as hitting partner for numerous WTA players.

A former standout at the University of South Carolina at Aiken, Klysner played No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles and was named team's MVP his senior year. He was nationally ranked in both singles and doubles ranking in the top-50 nationally in 1999.

After earning his degree in Exercise Science, Klysner turned professional and won two tournaments on the Canadian circuit. He has competed in tournaments all over the world and still competes in lower-level professional events.

Born in Hillerod, Denmark, his family later moved to Winnipeg, Canada, where he became a standout Junior player. He was a member of the Canadian Junior National Team and won more than 30 tournaments all over Canada, the U.S. and Europe. While competing on the Junior level, he earned a win over former world No. 1 Andy Roddick.