Youngstown State University
Northern Kentucky
Penguins Defeat NKU to Wrap Up Regular Season
4/25/2021 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Cincinnati, Ohio - The Youngstown State men's tennis team picked up a 5-2 win over Northern Kentucky on Sunday afternoon at the Lindner Tennis Center at Lunken.
With the victory, YSU split the weekend series with the Norse and finishes the regular season 12-8 overall and 5-3 in the Horizon League. The Norse drop to 9-4 and 5-3. The team's will play one another a third straight time in the semifinals of the Horizon League Championships with are this Saturday.
After losing 6-1 on Saturday, the Penguins came out and won the doubles point on Sunday to set the tone for the strong performance.
In doubles, YSU won at No. 3 while NKU won at No. 2. At No. 3, Laurentiu Mandocescu and Will Everett won 6-1 while the Norse won 6-3 at No. 2. YSU won the decisive point at No. 1 doubles as Vasilis Vardakis and Erik Gran picked up a big 7-6 (2) win.
The Penguins went to work in singles winning in straight sets at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. Mandocescu won 6-0, 6-3 over Brandon Ponomarew at No. 2 for the first win. At No. 3, Joao Garretto beat Andrew Niehaus, 6-0 and 6-3. Vardakis clinched the match with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over Emilien Burnel at No. 1. The Penguins had dropped all three matches in straight sets the day before.
NKU picked up three-set wins at No. 4 and No. 5 while YSU won in three sets at No. 6. At No. 6, Everett beat Trevor Ball for the second straight day by a score of 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. At No. 5, NKU won 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 while at No. 4 the Norse won 5-7, 6-3, 10-6.
Saturday's rubber-match is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Schwartz Family Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Ind.
