The Youngstown State men's tennis team will honor seniors Silviu Mistreanu and Dawoud Kabli this weekend as the Penguins play their final two home matches of the year. YSU hosts UIC on Saturday and Valparaiso on Sunday in key Horizon League matchups.
The match against the Flames (6-10 overall and 2-2 in the Horizon League) is set for Saturday at 5 p.m. The contest against the Crusaders (19-5 and 3-1) will be on Sunday at 9 a.m. Both matches are at the Boardman Tennis Center.
Prior to the match on Saturday, Mistreanu and Kabli will be honored in a Senior Day ceremony.
Mistreanu owns a 54-34 mark in his Youngstown State singles career and has posted a 40-33 record in doubles. He returned to the lineup following a shoulder injury on March 21 and since that time the Guins are 4-2. He had a career-high 17 wins last year. He has had his best year in doubles this season posting a 10-4 mark, including a 6-1 record at No. 2.
Kabli has picked up 42 singles wins and 57 doubles victories in his career. As a freshman he had a career-best 14 victories. As a junior Kabli won 12 singles matches and this year he has won 10. In doubles play, Kabli had a high of 18 wins as a junior after picking up 16 wins his sophomore season. He has combined for 18 singles and doubles wins this season.
Both matches will be key for the Penguins' seeding in the upcoming Horizon League Championships on April 24-26 in West Lafayette, Ind.
The top two seeds get a bye to the semifinals on Saturday. Entering the weekend, Valpo and YSU are tied for second with 3-1 marks. Both teams have lost to Green Bay.
YSU enters this weekend with a 3-1 conference mark and is 7-11 overall. The Penguins will be looking to bounce back after dropping two contests in Wisconsin last week. At the Boardman Tennis Center in league play, the Penguins own wins over Detroit and Cleveland State.
UIC has won four of its last six matches, including close conference wins over Detroit and Wright State.
The Penguins last beat UIC at the Horizon League Tournament in 2013. That same season the Guins beat the Flames 6-1 in the regular season. YSU has beaten UIC three times in school history and two came in span of 15 days in 2013. Last year YSU lost a 4-3 decision in Chicago to close out the regular season.
The Crusaders, who will play at Cleveland State on Saturday, have won seven of their last nine matches. Their two losses have come by 4-3 margins to Western Michigan and Green Bay.
YSU has won three of the last four meetings in the series, however the Crusaders won 6-1 last season. Prior to 2011, the Penguins had never beaten Valpo in a dual match.
Green Bay is in first in the Horizon League standings at 5-0 and has clinched a share of the league title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Phoenix conclude the season against last-place Wright State this weekend.
