The Youngstown State men's tennis team is the No. 1 seed for the 2022 Horizon League Championships at the Varsity Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

By virtue of winning the regular-season title with a perfect 8-0 record, the Penguins are the No. 1 seed and get a bye to the semifinals. In its semifinal match, YSU takes on UIC at 11 a.m on Saturday if the match is played on the outdoor courts. Cleveland State is the No. 2 seed and will face IUPUI, the No. 3 seed.

YSU finished the regular season with a 13-8 overall mark and has won its final eight contests of the campaign. The Penguins' last defeat was on March 20 against Butler.

This marks YSU's fifth consecutive trip to the Horizon League semifinals. The Penguins' most recent postseason match was a 4-2 defeat to Northern Kentucky in the semifinals on May 1, 2021. 

YSU recently swept all four of the Horizon League's top honors as Laurentiu Mandocecsu was named Player of the Year, Clement Mainguy was named Freshman of the Year, Erik Gran was the recipient of the Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award and Ulises Hernandez was tabbed Coach of the Year. Mandocescu, Mainguy and Harry Fouzas were all named first-team All-Horizon League selections.
 

Rematch with UIC

The Penguins won both contests against UIC in the regular season. Against the Flames, the Guins won the two matches by scores of 5-2 (April 16) and 4-3 (April 2).

Regular Season Recap

YSU played its first dual match of the season was on Jan. 28 at Delaware. Following four tough defeats to begin the campaign, YSU won its first match of the spring at Marquette on Feb. 11 and that sparked a string of five wins in six matches, including a four-match winning streak. After dropping three matches, the Penguins regrouped prior to Horizon League play. YSU opened league competition with a 4-3 win over Cleveland State, its first over the Vikings since 2017 and that momentum catapulted them to seven straight wins at the first conference championship for the program since 1980. Three of the eight losses were by 4-3 margins.

Horizon League Numbers

Individually in the eight Horizon League matches this spring, YSU was 34-14 in singles and 11-8 in doubles. Laurentiu Mandocescu, Clement Mainguy and David Alvarez Moreno each went 7-1 to lead the team. Nathan Favier was 4-1, Harry Fouzas went 4-3, Will Everett was 3-1 and Javi Pla was 2-5.

Horizon League Tournament History

All-time in Horizon League Tournament play, the Penguins own a 5-25 mark. The Guins have never reached the finals, but have appeared in the semifinals in five straight tournaments. YSU's last victory in the event was April 27, 2018 against Wright State. The Penguins dropped a tough 4-3 decision in the semifinals to UIC in the 2019 championships.

For news and updates throughout the tournament, follow the Youngstown State men's tennis program on Twitter @YSUMensTennis