Mickael Sopel has done an impressive job turning the Youngstown State tennis program into one of the most respected in the Midwest.
Sopel, a two-time Horizon League Coach of the Year, is in his 13th season as the Head Coach of the women's tennis program in 2025-26. Under his direction, the Penguins have won eight league postseason titles, appeared in eight NCAA tournaments and have reached the conference postseason title match nine times in the 11 years it has been contested since his arrival at YSU.
He spent his first five years at YSU in charge of both the men's and women's programs. During that time, the women advanced to the NCAA Tournament each year while the men's program made major strides. In 2018-19 he became solely the coach of the women's team
The women's team has won eight Horizon League postseason championships and five regular-season crowns under Sopel's leadership. They have had two Players of the Year, 19 first-team all-league selections and 11 second-team all-league honorees. He was has twice been named the HL Coach of the Year (2023 and 2015). The men had nine players receive all-conference recognition and win two league specialty awards in his five years.
In his 12 years as women's coach, the Penguins are 146-129. He picked up his 100th dual victory when YSU defeated Milwaukee in the Horizon League Championships semifinals on May 1, 2021. In Horizon League Tournament matches under Sopel, the Guins own an impressive 19-2 record.
In 2025, the Penguins were a perfect 7-0 in April. YSU capped off the month with a 4-1 win over Cleveland State in the Horizon League title match after defeating Milwaukee, 4-0, in the semifinals. In the title match vs. the Vikings, YSU dropped the doubles point before dominating in singles play for the win. Youngstown State was sent to Michigan in the NCAA Regionals and hung tough against the Wolverines who later advanced to the Final Four.
Julia Marko and Lili Minich were named first-team All-Horizon League while Lorena Cedeno and Yeseniia Ovcharova were tabbed all-league second team. Marko ended her impressive career ranked second in school history in singles and doubles victories.
In 2024, YSU shared the league's regular-season title with Cleveland State and Chicago State. With their backs against the wall after dropping their league opener, the Guins rallied for five straight victories to close out the conference campaign and grab a piece of the title. Earning first-team honors was Eliska Masarikova and Marko while Elinor Beazley was a second-team selection. Maria Oliveira was the second Penguin to receive the HL's Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award and first since 2016.
In 2023, the Penguins found their mojo in late March and that powered them to win the outright league title and take the postseason crown once again. YSU was just 2-8, but turned things around by winning nine straight matches. The Guins claimed the outright Horizon League regular-season title going 6-0 in league play before beating Milwaukee (5-0) and Cleveland State (4-3) at the HL Tournament. The contest against CSU last nearly four hours, but the Guins prevailed and advanced to face No. 5 Michigan in the NCAA Regionals.
Sopel was recognized as the HL Coach of the Year in 2023 for the second time in his career. Earning first-team All-Horizon League accolades were Elisa Rigazio and Masarikova while Minich and Cecilia Rosas received second-team all-league accolades.
In 2022, he masterfully guided the program back to the NCAA Championships as the Penguins battled to win Horizon League Tournament title. In the semifinals, YSU ousted rival UIC by a 4-2 margin. In the championship contest, the Penguins and Milwaukee were tied 3-3 before the Guins clinched the match with a win at No. 6 singles. Youngstown State played at fourth-seed Virginia in the NCAA Championships.
Rosas earned first-team All-Horizon League accolades while Masarikova and Marko were second-team honorees.
The 2021 season saw the Penguins overcome adversity to reach the finals for the first time since 2018. YSU opened the season with eight players and lost one during the season to a season-ending injury. But the Guins preserved to post an 8-2 Horizon League record and finish second in the regular season. YSU opened up the postseason with an impressive 4-0 win over Milwaukee in the HL semifinals. In the finals match, YSU battled a strong UIC team before dropping a marathon 4-1 decision to the rival Flames. On the season, YSU won 16 matches and played its first campaign in the beautiful YSU Indoor Tennis Center which opened in the summer of 2020.
In 2018, the women's program ended the year by winning 16 of their final 20 matches. The Penguins shared the regular-season title with UIC, but doused the Flames 4-0 in the Horizon League Championship match to advance to the NCAA Regionals. The Guins played No. 8 seed Florida in Gainesville in their fifth straight NCAA appearance. YSU was 8-1 in Horizon League play and the 16 wins were the second most in school history behind 17 in 2014-15.
The men's team was 12-11 overall, the second straight campaign it had a winning record back in 2018. The last time YSU had consecutive winning seasons was 1989-90 and 1990-91. Danylo Veremiechuk (first team) and Joao Garretto (second team) earned all-league accolades.
In 2017, the men's program set a school record for wins with 19 while advancing to the Horizon League semifinals for the second time in program history. Three players received all-conference accolades as Mitch Maroscher (first team), Thomas Rodrigues (second team) and 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 Longi 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 to 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. Annia Brendel became the first Penguin to win the HL's Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award.
During the spring of 2015, the women's team won a school record 17 dual matches, had a 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.
Marta Burak was named the Horizon League's Player of the Year and she became the first tennis player to be named YSU's Scholar-Athlete of the Year (male or female). Burak was a four-time first-team all-league selection and posted a career record of 38-1 in Horizon League play. Sopel was named the league's Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.
In the Horizon League tournament, the Guins knocked off UIC for the first time in the postseason in the semifinals. In the championship match, YSU dropped the doubles point before rallying for four singles wins to knock off Detroit. In the NCAA Regionals, the Penguins were matched up against No. 1-ranked USC in Los Angeles.
The men had a strong Horizon League season finishing second and recording four league wins. YSU beat Cleveland State, UIC, Wright State and Detroit during the league slate and finished tied for seconds. Remi Chancerel was named first-team all-conference and Newcomer of the Year while Hugo Morth was a second-team honoree. Mistreanu was the recipient of the Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award.
It was a whirlwind first season for Sopel in 2013-14 as he took over both squads in early September after spending less than a year as the Penguins' assistant coach.
The women's program became the first Horizon League squad other than UIC to win the conference title since 1996. At the Horizon League Championship, the Penguins knocked off Wright State, second-seed Milwaukee and top-seed Cleveland to claim the crown. YSU participated in the Charlottesville Regional against No. 3 seed Virginia. The Guins battled the Cavaliers before falling in the match. During the year, the Penguins defeated the Flames for the first time in school history.
Margarita Sadovnikova became the first player in the program's history to be a four-time first-team all-conference pick. Burak and Lackova was also a first-team honorees.
The men's team had a strong showing in the conference tournament. YSU defeated third-seed Wright State in the quarterfinals in a 4-3 thriller. The Guins won the doubles point and clinched the win when Rodrigo Campos won in three sets. In the semifinals against Cleveland State, YSU dropped a hard-fought 4-2 decision to the Vikings.
Additionally, 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.
Sopel was an assistant for Mark Klysner in 2012-13 before moving into the head coaching role. In his lone season as an assistant, the women advanced to the Horizon League Championship match for the second time in program history while the men picked up their first win over UIC since joining the league and won at Wright State for the first time in nearly 30 years. The Guins defeated the Flames 4-3 in the Horizon League tournament, just the program's second postseason dual win since joining the conference.
Previously he was at Gonzaga where he was an assistant with the men's program for two years and women's team for one campaign.
A native of Paris, France, Sopel has also served as an assistant coach at the Jean-Marie Castera Academy - Vieux-Bouco in France and as an intern in the French Federation, working with a number of France's top level tennis players.
Sopel was a two-time NAIA Academic All-American in tennis and cross country at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. He was a member of two cross country teams that advanced to the NAIA National Championships and also played for LCSC's tennis team that advanced to the NAIA Tennis Championships in 2008.
The multi-lingual Sopel, who is fluent in both English and in French, earned his bachelor of arts degree in business administration from LCSC in May 2009. Sopel received his MBA from Gonzaga in 2012.
His sister, Myriam, was a tennis standout at Indiana. Over the summer, the Sopel's run the Odyessy Tennis Academy in the south of France. For more information, visit www.odysseytennis.com
He and his wife, Danielle, also operate a successful coffee shop in Austintown, the Juny Cafe, which opened in the summer of 2023.
