Submitted photo / YSU Athletics The YSU women’s team storms the court after Lili Minich’s singles win clinched the Horizon League championship for the Penguins over Milwaukee 4-3 on Sunday.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown State men’s tennis team had all the confidence in the world heading into the Horizon League tournament last weekend.

The Penguins had swept through conference play during the regular season undefeated, meaning they had already beaten every team in the league twice up to that point. But they still had to get through the tournament to achieve their ultimate goal.

“In some matches, we didn’t have the full team because of some injuries, so we had some tough matches,” said freshman Nathan Favier. “We were expecting a big battle, but we were confident and knew that we were able to beat everyone.”

After earning a bye as the top seed, YSU dispatched UIC 4-1 in the tournament semifinal Saturday, before then sweeping IUPUI 4-0 Sunday in Ann Arbor, Michigan to win the program’s first-ever Horizon League Tournament championship.

“We were just so happy — I was actually done with my match, so I was off to the side watching Will’s (Everett’s) match since that would finish first, and we were just like, ‘Wow, it’s actually happening, we might actually win,'” said freshman Clement Mainguy. “When (Everett) won the last point, we just went crazy. We were really proud of ourselves at that moment.”

YSU wasn’t done yet though — one title was down, but there was still one to go.

With the men’s title in the bag in the morning, the women’s championship match came that Sunday afternoon.

Both teams have a tight bond. Their schedules are often similar, and they all spend time together off the court.

“We’re all super close,” Mainguy said. “That’s why this is so special, because we supported them throughout the year and they supported us throughout the year.”

So naturally, the men stuck around to cheer on the women in their final against Milwaukee.

Senior Cecilia Rosas’ straight-sets win at the No. 1 singles spot gave the Penguins a 3-1 lead in the match, but Milwaukee climbed back, winning the No. 3 and No. 5 singles matches to level things up 3-3.

Rosas had come close twice before and come up short, and she didn’t want that to happen again. During her freshman year at Akron, Rosas was part of a Zips team that lost 4-3 in its conference final, then she transferred to YSU and as part of last year’s squad, the Penguins lost in that final 4-2.

Submitted photo / YSU Athletics The YSU men’s tennis team mobs Will Everett after his singles win clinched the Horizon League title for the Penguins over IUPUI 4-0 on Sunday.

“Being 3-3, it was so close,” Rosas said. “I saw (freshman) Lili (Minich) was up, but I know in tennis, things can go anywhere in no time. So I was so stressed.”

In the No. 6 singles match, tied a set apiece, but up 5-2 in the third with a match point on her serve, Minich hit a crosscourt backhand slice, which Milwaukee’s Anika Tylek returned with a crosscourt backhand.

As Tylek’s shot sailed wide, Minich dropped to the court and was swarmed by her fellow screaming Penguins — all while the men rained down their own cheers and shouts from the stands at the William Clay Ford Courts on the University of Michigan’s campus.

“When it finally happened and we won the title, it was unbelievable,” Rosas said. “Third time’s the charm, right? Finally got a (championship) ring. I think the word that came to my mind was, ‘finally.'”

“It was amazing the energy that the boys provided,” Rosas added. “First I was a little bit nervous because the boys already have a ring, now we need a ring. So I was a little bit stressed, but the boys provided such good energy and helped us relax. I feel like the boys are more relaxed than girls sometimes.”

For the YSU women, it may have been the program’s first conference championship since 2018, but winning conference titles is nothing new to them, having claimed five straight from 2014-2018.

Also, in the nine Horizon League tournaments contested since 2013, the women have reached the final eight times, so the program is no stranger to success.

“It’s a tribute to building a culture in the program,” said YSU women’s head coach Mickael Sopel. “The girls have been able to transmit the tradition from generation to generation of players and really keep the ball rolling. It’s a team culture and a work ethic that allows us to come through at the right time.”

With the titles, the YSU men and women each earned automatic bids into the NCAA team tournament. The men were sent to the Columbus Regional to face No. 4 seed Ohio State, while the women were selected to travel to the Charlottesville Regional to face No. 5 seed Virginia.

“We expect the guys to go out there and compete and do the best they can because obviously we know their ranking, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to beat them,” said men’s head coach Ulises Hernandez.

The men’s team has a young but talented roster, while the women have a balanced group with a fusion of young and older players — both of which bode well for the future.

“It’s exciting because winning the Horizon with such a young team, there’s a lot of talent and that talent is going to be staying for a few years,” Sopel said. “So next year and the year after, we’re going to have a very talented, very experienced team that has won a title coming back to try to do it again.”