Orlando, Fla. -- The Youngstown State men's tennis team split a pair of matches on their spring break trip on Tuesday, defeating Western Illinois 5-2 and falling 6-1 to Northern Illinois.

Freshman Rodrigo Campos went 2-0 in singles matches on the day and earned the Penguins' point against the Huskies.

"I want to give credit to Rodrigo, who played the best match I've seen him play all year against NIU and won both of his matches on the day," YSU head coach Mark Klysner said.

The Penguins earned all five of their points against Western Illinois by going 5-1 in singles. Tariq Ismail defeated Jeff Cote 7-5, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, and Felipa Rosa beat Patrick Hammers 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2. Max Schmerin defeated Mandela Shepard 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3, and Zeeshan Ismail took the No. 4 point by beating Alejandro Buceta 7-5, 6-4. Campos topped Francisco Ortiz 6-1, 6-0 in a lopsided match at No. 5, and YSU defaulted at No. 6 singles.

The Fighting Leathernecks won the doubles point by sweeping all three matches. Ortiz and Hammers beat Rosa and Campos 8-5 at No. 1, and Cote and Buceta won 8-4 at No. 2 by beating the Ismails. YSU defaulted at No. 3 doubles.

"I am very proud of the guys fought today," Klysner said. "Monday we seemed to come out flat with no intensity, but today we really came out with a whole different intensity and focus."

"I mixed up our doubles teams today in hope of finding a good fit for the rest of the season. Against Western Illinois we lost the doubles point, but the guys got fired up and came out and swept all the singles matches we played. It was so nice to see the guys come out with such emotion and play their hearts out."

Campos provided the lone point for YSU against Northern Illinois, beating Maxsym Lagutin 6-0, 6-1 at No. 5 singles. Maksym Bartiuk beat Tariq Ismail 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1, Axel Lagerlof (NIU) topped Rosa 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2, Roman Turtygin knocked off Schmerin 6-2, 6-4 at No. 3, and Max Phillips narrowly beat Zeeshan Ismail 7-6, 6-3 at No. 4. YSU defaulted at No. 6 singles.

In doubles against the Huskies, Bartiuk and Lagutin defeated Schmerin and Tariq Ismail 8-6 at No. 1. Rosa and Campos fell 8-1 to Turtygin and Lagerlof in No. 2. YSU defaulted at No. 3 doubles.

"Playing Northern Illinois in the afternoon was a tough match to play on such a hot day and the latter match of a doubleheader, but I was really happy with the effort the guys gave. The scores reflected that against a very strong team."

The Penguins will return to the Boardman Tennis Center to play Toledo on Friday at noon.

YSU 5, Western Illinois 2 - March 15, 2011

Singles
No. 1 - Tariq Ismail (YSU) def. Jeff Cote (WIU) 7-5, 6-2
No. 2 – Felipa Rosa (YSU) def. Patrick Hammers (WIU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 – Max Schmerin (YSU) def. Mandela Shepard (WIU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 – Zeeshan Ismail (YSU) def. Alejandro Buceta (WIU) 7-5, 6-4
No. 5 – Rodrigo Campos (YSU) def. Francisco Ortiz (WIU) 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 – Jim Capalbo (WIU) def. (YSU default)

Doubles
No. 1 – Ortiz/Hammers (WIU) def. Rosa/Campos (YSU) 8-5
No. 2 – Cote/Buceta (WIU) def. Ismail/Ismail (YSU) 8-4
No. 3 – Yue/Shepard (WIU) def. (YSU default)

Northern Illinois 6, YSU 1 - March 15, 2011

Singles
No. 1 – Maksym Bartiuk (NIU) def. Tariq Ismail (YSU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 – Axel Lagerlof (NIU) def. Felipe Rosa (YSU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 – Roman Turtygin (NIU) def. Max Schmerin (YSU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 – Max Phillips (NIU) def. Zeeshan Ismail (YSU) 7-6, 6-3
No. 5 – Rodrigo Campos (YSU) def. Maxsym Lagutin (NIU) 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 – Bryant Wei (NIU) def. (YSU default)

Doubles
No. 1 – Bartiuk/Lagutin (NIU) def. Schmerin/T. Ismail (YSU) 8-6
No. 2 - Turtygin/Lagerlof (NIU) def. Rosa/Campos (YSU) 8-1
No. 3 – Phillips/Wei (NIU) def. (YSU default)