Conference Title Within Reach for YSU Heading Into Final Weekend
4/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
In the midst of a school-record winning streak, the Youngstown State women's tennis team goes for its first Horizon League regular-season title in school history this weekend against UIC on Saturday and Valparaiso on Sunday at the Boardman Tennis Center.
Saturday's match against UIC (9-8 and 5-1 in the Horizon League) is set to start at 5 p.m. Sunday's tilt against Valparaiso (3-14 and 1-5) gets underway at 9 a.m.
A win over UIC on Saturday will clinch at least a share of the league title. A pair of victories this weekend and the Penguins will be the outright regular-season conference champion.
YSU (13-8 overall and 6-0 in the Horizon League) enters the weekend with the longest winning streak in the program's history at seven. The streak started with a win over Dayton on March 21 and since that time the Guins have won six straight league matches as well. The school record for league wins in a year is six which came last season and in 2005.
The Penguins have never defeated UIC in Youngstown and earned their first win over the Flames last April in Chicago. Before YSU's win over UIC last spring, the Penguins had dropped every contest between the two programs.
Against Valparaiso, the Guins have won the last 11 meetings dating back to April 1996.
While the Guins go for a league title, this weekend marks the final home matches for senior Marta Burak. Burak has rewritten the YSU tennis record books since arriving on campus in 2011.
A three-time first-team All-Horizon League performer, Burak has set the YSU record for singles wins in a career with 91. Combined with 77 doubles victories, she has claimed 168 wins in her Penguins career. In dual play, which has been in the spring, she is in impressive 70-15 for a winning percentage of 82.3. In Horizon League play, Burak has posted a 33-1 singles mark and has won 28 straight matches dating back to April 2011. She is 28-1 in HL regular-season play as a Penguin.
The Horizon League tournament starts April 24 in West Lafayette, Ind.
