Youngstown State University
Northern Kentucky
Penguins Drop 4-2 Decision to NKU in Horizon League Semifinals
5/1/2021 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
West Lafayette, Ind. - The Youngstown State men's tennis team dropped a 4-2 decision to Northern Kentucky in the semifinals of the Horizon League Championships on Saturday at the Schwartz Tennis Center at Purdue University.
The Penguins (12-9) had a rousing start winning the doubles point, but NKU (10-4) had a strong showing in singles to eliminate the Penguins and advance to tomorrow's finals against Cleveland State.
In doubles, YSU picked up strong victories at No. 1 and No. 2 to claim the point. At No. 1, Vasilis Vardakis and Erik Gran beat Emilien Burnel and Andrew Niehaus by a 6-1 margin. At No. 2, Joao Garretto and David Alvarez Moreno clinched the point for the Guins with a 6-4 win over Trevor Ball and Jorge Rodriguez.
In singles, the Penguins won first sets at No. 2 and No. 4, but the Norse grabbed early leads in the other four matches.
NKU picked up its first singles win at No. 6 Felipe Hidalgo defeated David Alvarez Moreno 6-4, 6-4 to the Norse on the board. Santiago Casamayor defeated Will Everett, 7-6 (5), 6-4 at No. 5 to put NKU ahead 2-1.
The Penguins quickly tied the match when Laurentiu Mandocescu earned a 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 win over Brandon Ponomarew at No. 2 singles. NKU's Andrew Niehaus beat Garretto 7-5, 6-2 at No. 3 to put the Guins in a 3-2 hole. The match was clinched as Jorge Rodriguez beat Gran by a score of 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4.
In the lone non-completed match, Vardakis trailed Emilien Burnel at No. 1 in a back-and-forth match by a score of 6-4, 2-6, 3-2.
