Vince Hill, a former YSU tennis standout, is in his fifth season as an assistant coach for the Penguins. Hill has been a key asset for Head Coach Mickael Sopel working with the either team when duties require Sopel to split up coaching duties because of match or travel conflicts.
He has been an assistant coach for both the women's and men's teams the past three seasons.
In the past four years the women's program has won four Horizon League postseason championships, appeared in four NCAA Tournaments and won two regular-season crowns. They have had two Players of the Year, nine first-team all-league selections and two second-team all-league honorees. The men have had seven players receive all-conference recognition and win two league speciality awards.
Both programs have had players receive the Horizon League's Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award - Annina Brendel for the women in 2016 and Silviu Mistreanu for the men in 2015. YSU had never had an athlete receive the award on either side in the program's history.
In 2017, the men's program set a school record for wins with 19 while advancing to the Horizon League semifinals for the first time ever. Three players received all-conference accolades as Mitch Maroscher (first team), Thomas Rodrigues (second team) and Danylo Veremeichuk (second team) all earned honors. In away matches, the Guins were 8-1 setting a school-record for most road wins in a season.
The women claimed their fourth straight Horizon League postseason crown while earning the regular-season title in the process in 2017. YSU shared the regular-season title with Cleveland State and UIC, but was the top seed in the HL Tournament. The Penguins picked up wins over Detroit Mercy and Wright State to reach the NCAA Regionals. YSU visited Michigan in the postseason to take on the Wolverines. A pair of Penguins - Dominika Lackova and Noelly Nsimba - were first-team all-league honorees. It was the fourth straight year Lackova was named first-team all-league.
In 2016, the Penguins faced the long road to their third consecutive league title. YSU had two win three matches at the conference championship. The Guins did that by beating Oakland, UIC and Wright State. Against the Raiders, YSU dropped the doubles point, but four singles wins gave it another conference championship. The Penguins played at No. 4 Ohio State in the NCAA Regionals.
Lackova was tabbed the Horizon League's Player of the Year while earning all-league accolades for the third straight season.
The YSU women won their first-ever regular-season Horizon League title in 2015. The Guins have won three straigth postseason crowns advancing to the NCAA Regionals.
In 2014, YSU won its first Horizon League title and played at Virginia in the NCAA Regionals. Hill worked with Horizon League Player of the Year Margarita Sadovnikova throughout the campaign. Sadovnikova set the school record for career victories before Marta Burak eclipsed the mark in 2015.
In 2015, YSU posted a perfect 8-0 Horizon League record and defeated UIC and Detroit to win its second straight league title. Rhe women's team won a school record 17 dual matches, had a school-best nine match winning streak, posted a perfect 8-0 Horizon League mark, won the conference regular-season title for the first time in school history and also won the postseason crown as well. The Penguins played at USC in the NCAA Regionals.
For the men, Remi Chancerel was named the top freshman in the Horizon League. YSU won four league matches and tied for second in the regular-season standings. Mistreanu received the conference's Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award. He is the first Penguins tennis player to earn the accolade.
Hill played for the Penguins from 1997-99 and was a three-year letterwinner with the program. He posted 34 career wins during his career ranking him 10th in school history.
He was a two-time first-team All-Mid-Continent Conference (1998, 1999) honoree during his Penguin career and primarily competed in the No. 1 spot in both singles and doubles. As a junior, he won a career-high 14 matches.
In 1998, the Penguins finished third at the Mid-Continent Conference Championships, its highest-ever finish during their tenure in the league.
