Ann Arbor, Mich. - The Youngstown State men's tennis team opened play at the Horizon League Championships with a 4-0 win over Northern Kentucky on Friday at the Michigan Varsity Tennis Center.

With the win, the Penguins improve to 19-7 overall and advance to play top-seed Valpariso in the semifinals on Saturday. The match is scheduled for 11 a.m., but inclement weather could force a noon start indoors.

YSU started off well winning the doubles point. At No. 1, Mitch Maroscher and Thomas Rodrigues won 6-1 while Danylo Veremeichuk and Joao Garretto picked up a 6-3 victory.

In singles play, YSU won the first three completed matches with wins coming at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6.

Winning first was Veremeichuk taking a 6-2, 6-0 decision over Lucas Clemens. Winning soon after were Rodrigues and Yossi Dahan to clinch the match. Rodrigues won his match at No. 3 by a 6-4, 6-4 over Javier Araya. Dahan sealed the win with against Adrian Isache at No. 6 by a score of 6-3, 6-2.