Horizon League Tennis Championships Results
Men:
(6) Detroit 4, (3) Youngstown State 2
(4) Wright State 4, (5) UIC 0
Women:
(3) Cleveland State 4, (6) Wright State 0
(4) Detroit 4, (5) Milwaukee 2
Wright State and Detroit advanced to the Horizon League Men’s Tennis Championship semifinals, while Cleveland State and Detroit followed suit on the women’s side in the first day of matches from the Barbara S. Wynne Tennis Center on the campus of North Central High School.
(6) Detroit 4, (3) Youngstown State 2
Detroit pulled the day’s lone upset by seed, as the No. 6 Titans held off third-seeded Youngstown State, 4-2. In the teams’ regular-season meeting, it was the Penguins who emerged with the 4-3 victory, but Detroit jumped out to an early lead and held on.
The Titans took the doubles point behind an 8-6 win at No. 1 shortly after claiming an 8-3 victory at No. 2.
Pablo Nunez, who was part of the victorious No. 2 doubles team, quickly gave Detroit a 2-0 lead, sweeping to a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles. Silviu Mistreanu would put Youngstown State on the board with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph at No. 1, while Rodrigo Campos added to the Penguins’ haul with a 7-6(4), 6-2 win at No. 5.
Cesar Serrano Escobar brought the Titans within a single win of the match, collecting a 6-3, 7-6(3) win at No. 2. As the No. 6 singles match between Max Schmerin and Rafael Orantes wound down in the third set, Alex Latosinsky completed his rally from a 1-0 deficit to take a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 3, closing out the match.
Detroit will meet No. 2 Cleveland State at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
(4) Wright State 4, (5) UIC 0
No. 4 Wright State controlled its match against No. 5 UIC, 4-0. The Raiders took two of their three singles wins in three sets in holding the Flames at bay.
The Raiders drew first blood in doubles, as Jamison Clark and Hayden Joblin combined for an 8-2 win at No. 1 before Lauri Makikalli and Michael Lyzwa took an 8-6 victory at No. 2.
Joblin jumped out to a straight-set, 7-6, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles; with matches at No. 2 and No. 3 in the third set, Wright State closed the victory by grabbing three-set wins at No. 5 and No. 6. Clark found himself down a set, 3-6, before rallying for a 7-6, 6-4 victory at No. 5.
At No. 6, Dan Hyman closed the win with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 triumph.
Wright State will take on top-seeded Green Bay at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
(3) Cleveland State 4, (6) Wright State 0
Third-seeded Cleveland State controlled play throughout, cruising to a 4-0 win over No. 6 Wright State.
At the conclusion of singles play, Cleveland State trailed in just one match, breezing to three straight set wins. Alex Bush posted a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 3, while Maria Lazaris dropped just two games in a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 5. Nicole Janek recorded a 6-1, 6-0 triumph at No. 6.
Cleveland State started the match with two convincing wins in doubles, rolling to an 8-1 win at No. 2 behind Alex Power and Lazaris. Bush and Kara Sherwood picked up an 8-3 win at No. 1 to snare the doubles point.
The Vikings will take on No. 2 Youngstown State at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
(4) Detroit 4, (5) Milwaukee 2
Detroit fended off a game Milwaukee squad, grabbing a 4-2 victory behind its No. 1 and No. 2 singles players.
No. 1 Chloe Karoub and No. 2 Nino Sujashvili helped Detroit get three of its four points, beginning with Karoub’s 8-3 doubles win with Raina Halabi. While Milwaukee won at No. 2, 8-2, to even the doubles, it was the No. 1 team of Elena Strakhova and Valery Kulikovskaya who saved the point for the Titans, emerging with a 9-8 victory at No. 1.
Milwaukee forced the match into the final pairings behind Kelly Fritz and Kristin Kurer. Fritz won at No. 3 singles, 7-5, 6-4, while Kurer took her match at No. 5, 6-1, 6-2.
But, the Panthers could draw no closer, as Karoub knocked off Maddy Soule, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 1, to even the match. Elena Strakhova would give Detroit the lead with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win at No. 6, before Sujashvili provided the clincher with a 7-6(3), 7-5 triumph at No. 2.
The Titans will meet 16-time defending champion UIC on Saturday; it was Detroit that ended the Flames’ 146-match conference winning streak earlier in the year.
