HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky's men's and women's tennis returns home for the final time this season as the Norse will host Youngstown State and Cleveland State on Friday and Saturday, April 12-13. The men will kick off action against the Penguins on Friday at 1 p.m. before starting Saturday off against the Vikings at 11 a.m. The women's match will follow both matches and the Norse will compete at the Lindner Tennis Center at Lunken Playfield.
The Norse men are coming off a 5-2 setback at Green Bay, but a pair of Norse extended their winning streaks in singles play.
Nathan Schwartz improved to 9-4 on the season and has won his last eight matches, going 4-0 in Horizon League play, while
Jorge Rodriguez Agudo sports an 8-5 record with a seven-match winning streak, also undefeated against league opponents.
NKU's women fell at Milwaukee in a heartbreaking 4-3 decision, but bounced back with a 6-1 victory at Green Bay. Margita Sunjic, Maria Koo and Taylor Culbertson were all undefeated on the weekend, with Sunjic and Culbertson both winning in straight sets while Koo remained undefeated in league play.
Youngstown State's men sit at 8-7 on the season and are 1-1 in league play, defeating Green Bay and falling in a close match to Cleveland State, 4-3. Danylo Veremeichuk has gone 7-7 out of the top flight for the Penguins and is also 7-6 in doubles play with Joao Garretto. Most of the Penguins' singles play has been evenly split between wins and losses, with no singles spot holding significant strength or weakness.
The Penguin women are 4-16 on the season and 1-4 in Horizon League play, with their lone win coming against Green Bay. However, three of those losses have come against teams that are in the top-four of the league standings. Elvira Esteo and Lisa Khamassi both hold a 3-2 record in league play, while Lucia Zagar is looking to start a streak with two wins in the past two matches.
Cleveland State's men sport a 13-7 record and are 2-0 in league play. The preseason Horizon League favorites are headlined by the reigning player of the year, Nico Mostardi, who has gone 11-6 in dual match action this season. The Vikings have also seen strong play out of Clark Bilinovich, who has a 15-4 mark playing between the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots.
The Cleveland State women's team is also undefeated in Horizon League play at 5-0 and holds a 12-7 overall mark. Isabella Spindler is 9-10 out of the top flight, but is 4-1 in Horizon League play. Lara Prosenjak and Kateryna Avram are both undefeated in league action out of the No. 3 and 5 spot, respectively. The Vikings have also seen success in doubles play, highlighted by a 25-9 mark between the No. 2 and 3 tandems.
In last year's meetings, the men dropped a 6-1 decision at Youngstown State on April 14 and fell 7-0 to the Vikings on April 15. The women suffered similar setbacks, 5-2 at YSU and 6-1 at CSU.
