Youngstown State University
Detroit
YSU Qualifies for Horizon League Championships With Win Over Detroit
4/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Boardman -- The Youngstown State men's tennis team defeated Detroit 5-2 on Sunday at the Boardman Tennis Center. The win propels into the Penguins into the Horizon League Tournament as one of the top six teams in the conference.
The Penguins (6-12 overall and 2-5 in the Horizon League) needed a win over the Titans (6-14 and 1-6) to qualify for the league tournament which starts on Thursday in Indianapolis.
First-year Head Coach Mark Klysner was impressed with the way the Penguins came out strong in doubles and carried the momentum into singles play.
" I can't be happier with the way the guys played today," Klysner said. "We came out and played the best doubles we've played collectively all year and at the perfect time. We played with such high intensity and focus and the guys fought so hard today. All the work we put in this year paid off and with that earned us the final spot for the conference championships. I know we have surprised a lot of teams in the Horizon League this year and we hope to keep it going when we play the first round on Thursday."
YSU jumped out quickly earning the doubles point picking up wins at No. 2 and No. 3. At No. 2, Felipe Rosa and Rodrigo Campos earned an 8-6 win over the Titans' Chris Chueng and Cesar Cerrano. At No. 3, Zeeshan Ismail and Rob Emig beat David Stabley and Nick Tolomei 8-6 as well.
In singles play, YSU won three matches in straight sets and a fourth in three sets.
Tariq Ismail won at No. 1 singles with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Alex Latosinsky. Emig won 6-1, 6-2 over Stabley at No. 6 singles and Max Schmerin won 6-3, 7-6 over Pablo Nunez.
Winning in three sets was Zeeshan Ismail. Ismail bounced back strong after dropping the first set 6-0 by taking the next two 6-4 and 6-0 over Tolomei.
The Titans picked up singles wins at No. 2 in three sets over Felipe Rosa and at No. 5 when Campos retired in the second set.
YSU did not qualify for the 2010 Horizon League Championships, but has reached the event in the first year for Coach Klysner. Earlier this year, YSU won its first regular-season Horizon League match since March 2005 against Valpo.
