River Forest, Ill. - Youngstown State sophomore Erik Gran won the No. 4 Singles Flight to highlight the Penguins' season-opening weekend at the River Forest Collegiate Invitational.

Gran won three singles matches in three days to claim the No. 4 title. In the championship match on Sunday, Gran defeated Western Michigan's Jack Randall, 7-5, 7-5. In the semifinals, Gran beat Valparaiso's Daniel Langston 7-5, 6-4. 

Junior Vasilis Vardakis reached the title match at No. 1 singles. Varadkis won his first two contests before dropping a tough 5-7, 6-0, 10-5 decision to Western Michigan's Peter Kuszynski. 

In his YSU debut, Laurentiu Mandocescu reached the finals as well. On Sunday, Mandocescu dropped a 7-6, 6-0 contest to Gabriel Carvajal of Valparaiso. Will Everett picked up his first YSU win on Sunday beating Saint Louis' Kushal Marri, 6-1, 6-2.

Pol Virgili Blanco won his first match at No. 6 singles before falling in the third-place match 6-3, 6-4 to UIC's Anthony Nguyen.

YSU is next in action on Oct. 20-22 at the Toledo Invitational.

Sept. 15 - Singles
No. 1 - Peter Kuszynski (WMU) def. Vardakis (YSU) - 5-7, 6-0, 10-5
No. 2 - Ignacio Tintore (SLU) def. Garretto (YSU) - 3-6, 6-4, 10-6
No. 3 - Gabriel Carvajal (VU) def. Mandocescu (YSU) - 7-6 (5), 6-0
No. 4 - Gran (YSU) def. Jack Randall (WMU) - 7-5, 7-5
No. 5 - Everett (YSU) def. Kushal Marri (SLU) - 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 - Anthony Nguyen (UIC) def. Blanco (YSU) - 6-3, 6-4

Sept. 15 - Doubles
No. 1 - Garretto/Vardakis (YSU) def. Jartra/Brandon Lew (ISU) - 8-7
No. 2 - Mandocescu/Everett (YSU) def. Radomirovic/Dobbs (UWGB) - 8-6
No. 3 - Badaiants/Heiden (SLU) def. Gran/Virgili Blanco (YSU) - 8-5

Sept. 14 - Singles
No. 1 - Vardakis (YSU) def. Diego Le Gal Perez (ISU) - 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 - George Botha (UWGB) def. Garretto (YSU) - 6-3, 7-6 (4)
No. 3 - Mandocescu (YSU) def. Zac Faveri (WMU) - 6-3, 3-6, 10-7
No. 4 - Gran (YSU) def. Daniel Langston (VU) - 7-5, 6-4
No. 5 - Dipin Wadhwa (UWGB) def. Everett (YSU) - 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 - Arjun Honnappa (WMU) def. Blanco (YSU) - 6-4, 6-2

Sept. 14 - Doubles
No. 1 - Garretto/Vardakis (YSU) def. Nogalski/Tintore (SLU) - 8-5
No. 2 - Mandocescu/Everett (YSU) def. McKenzie/Cruz (SLU) - 8-6
No. 3 - Ortega/Yu Yu (NIU) def. Gran/Virgili Blanco (YSU) - 8-3

Sept. 13 - Singles
No. 1 - Vardakis (YSU) def. Brandon Ancona (VU) - 3-6, 6-3, 11-9
No. 2 - Jorge Bartra (ISU) def. Garretto (YSU) - 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 - Mandocescu (YSU) def. Luiz Dos Santos (UIC) - 6-4, 1-6, 10-6
No. 4 - Gran (YSU) def. Satchel Benn (UWGB) - won by default
No. 5 - Rodrigo Crespo (WMU) def. Everett (YSU) - 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 - Blanco (YSU) def. Frank Brozovich (VU) - 6-3, 6-0

Sept. 13 - Doubles
No. 1 - Strandberg/Parlklo (UIC) def. Garretto/Vardakis (YSU) - 8-6
No. 2 - Langston/Leithold (VU) def. Mandocescu/Everett (YSU) - 8-4
No. 3 - Gran/Virgili Blanco (YSU) def. Herrera (ISU) & DelaFuente (UIC) - 8-6