Youngstown State Coach Michele Grim, who is in her 14th seasonat the helm of the Penguins, continues to gradually build thewomen's tennis program into a contender for the Horizon Leaguecrown.
Grim has led the program to the Horizon League championshipmatch (2005) and two third-place finishes (2004 and 2009) since theGuins joined the conference.
In 2010, YSU reached the tournament before dropping its onlymatch in the opening round to Butler. During the regular season,the Guins picked up four league wins. Highlighting the season wasnewcomer Margarita Sadovnikova who was a first-team All-HorizonLeague selection.
The Penguins beat the No. 2 seed Butler to finish third place inthe Horizon League Tournament for 2009. The Penguins were the No. 5seed in the tournament and went on an impressive run beating WrightState and Cleveland State before facing Butler to claim thirdplace. The team finished with a 4-4 mark in league play with allfour wins coming by way of 7-0 shutout. Grim also recruited fourtalented freshmen for the season, including Sarah Lynch andGretchen Cloern who stepped up to play at No. 1 and 2 singles.
In 2008, the Penguins beat Wright State to finish in seventh inthe Horizon League meet. The team had an overall record of 9-16,and a 4-4 mark in the League. The Guins lost to Green Bay in firstmatch of the tournament, but beat Valparaiso and Wright State inthe next two matches.
The Penguins finished the regular season with a 3-16 mark andwent 1-5 in the League prior to the Horizon League Tournament inthe 2007 season. At the Tournament the Guins took home sixth placeafter losing to Milwaukee in the fifth place match.
In 2005, the Penguins advanced to a conference tournament finalfor the first time in school history. YSU, which finished second inthe Horizon League regular season, became the first school otherthan Butler and UIC since 2001 to advance to the championshipmatch. In the tournament the Penguins cruised past Green Bay in thequarterfinals before beating Butler on its home court in the semis.YSU lost to nine-time defending champion UIC in the finals.
The Penguins finished the year with a 14-10 overall mark andGrim was named the league's Co-Coach of the Year after guiding hersquad to a 6-1 Horizon League regular-season mark. Two of herplayers -- Karen Najbert and Whitney Thomas -- were named to theall-league team. Najbert was a first-team selection while Thomaswas named to the second team for the third consecutive season.
In 2004, YSU continued its climb up the league latter placingthird at the league meet. Thomas was a second-team all-leagueselection as the Penguins finished the year 15-12, including twowins at the postseason event. Youngstown State beat Wright State inthe opening round before losing to UIC in the semifinals. ThePenguins beat Cleveland State to finish third.
In 2003, the Penguins finished with an overall record of 8-13and 2-5 in the Horizon League. Grim also guided Thomas, then afreshman, to earn second-team all-league honors while YSU placedfifth at the league tournament. After dropping their quarterfinalmatch to Wright State, the Penguins rebounded with wins overMilwaukee and Detroit in the postseason tournament.
For the 2001-02 season, Youngstown State finished with anoverall record of 11-10 and was 4-3 in their first year ofcompetition in the Horizon League. At the league tournament, YSUbeat Green Bay in the quarterfinals before losing to UIC in thesemifinals. The Penguins lost to Wright State in the third-placematch to place fourth.
During the 2000-01 season, YSU's final year in the Mid-ContinentConference, the Penguins finished fourth at the conferencechampionships after dropping both of their matches in thetournament. On the year, Youngstown State finished with an 15-7dual record -- including a 7-0 fall mark -- while posting a 5-3conference record. Abby Vens was named second-team all-conferenceduring the campaign and was named to a league team all fouryears.
Grim, who coached the men's team from 1997-98 through 1999-2000,stepped aside from her dual coaching duties to focus solely on thewomen's program in October 2000.
In 1999-2000, the women's team finished with a 12-8 overallrecord and earned a fourth-place finish at the Mid-Con meet. In theregular season, the Penguins were 5-3 in conference play. YSU beatOakland in the tournament's first round before losing to OralRoberts and Southern Utah to place fourth. Vens was again namedsecond-team all-conference.
In 1998-99, Grim led the Penguins to a third-place finish at theconference meet on the women's side, while Vens was namedfirst-team all-conference and Marci Russ and Mary Hall earnedsecond-team all-conference honors. YSU posted a 16-6 dual recordfor the year. At the league tournament, the Penguins, who were 5-2and the third seed following the regular season, lost to No. 2Western Illinois before beating IUPUI to finish third.
Grim's first year in charge of the women's program saw thePenguins finish with a 13-9 overall mark in 1997-98. At the leaguemeet, YSU defeated Southern Utah in the quarterfinals before losingto Western Illinois in the semis. In the consolation final, thePenguins beat UMKC to place third. As a freshman, Vens was namedsecond-team all-conference.
Prior to joining the Penguin staff in August 1997, Grim servedas the assistant women's tennis coach at Florida State during the1995-96 season.
During her playing career at Tennessee, Grim was voted AcademicAll-Southeastern Conference in 1993 and was named co-captain duringthe 1992-93 season. Grim also ranked as high as 14th in NCAACollegiate Tennis in 1989.
For her career, she won 85 singles matches and 55 doublesmatches. The Lady Vols made three NCAA Tournament appearances inher four years placing ninth in both 1990 and 1992. The 1991-92squad finished with a 20-9 overall record and finished third in theSEC while the 1989-90 team was 19-8. She earned a bachelor's degreein education from Tennessee in 1994.
Michele and her husband, Rob, reside in East Palestine, Ohio.They have a daughter, Riley, and a son, Cooper.
She is also the head tennis professional at the Boardman Swimand Tennis Club and tennis professional at the Boardman TennisCenter.
