Submitted photo / Horizon League. The YSU women’s tennis team celebrates after winning the Horizon League championship against Cleveland State on Sunday.

YOUNGSTOWN — The tennis courts at the University of Michigan’s Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor have become like a second home for Youngstown State.

With the exception of their 2023 loss to Michigan in the NCAA tournament, the Penguins have won their last six matches on those courts.

Now, after defeating Cleveland State 4-1 on Sunday in Ann Arbor to win their third Horizon League women’s tennis championship in the last four years, it’s fitting that YSU is headed back to the Varsity Tennis Center once again to face the third-overall seeded Wolverines in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“We kind of had a feeling that it was going to be either Ohio State or Michigan. That made the most sense for what they usually do, so either way we were going to be happy,” head coach Mickael Sopel said.

“Michigan is very special to us because we have done very well there over the years. In our conference, a lot of our conference titles, we have earned them in Michigan. So going back there, it’s like home for us. We enjoy the courts and the environment, so we’re very excited to go back there. We’re very excited to compete there and have a chance to play the University of Michigan again.”

YSU has now won eight Horizon League titles in 12 years under Sopel, the second-most all-time in conference history.

The Penguins’ victory over the Vikings was payback for CSU’s 4-3 win over YSU from March 29 during the regular season.

In that match, the Penguins captured the doubles point to start off, and the singles matches went down to the wire, with senior Lili Minich falling in three sets in the final deciding match at No. 2 singles.

“It was a very good match overall, and the Cleveland State girls, honestly, they just played better on that day,” Minich said. “Everyone was fighting, and I lost the clinching match so I felt it a little more. … But on that day, they just had that one percentage point over us.”

Entering Sunday’s title match against CSU, the Penguins were determined. They had dominated Milwaukee 4-0 in the semifinal on Saturday, and YSU’s confidence was at an all-time high.

“I’ve been doing this for four years, and I never felt that the entire team wanted something as badly as we wanted it yesterday,” Minich said. “It was just a different level, and I think that’s why everyone performed at their very best. It was amazing to see that.”

This time around, the Vikings were the ones that took the doubles point, as CSU’s Tereze Vevere and Ella Franz earned a 6-3 win over Minich and junior Line Greyling at the No. 2 spot and CSU’s Jenna Redmile and Filippa Frogner won at No. 3 over freshman Lydia Foster and sophomore Lorena Cedeno 6-3.

Despite CSU’s early advantage, the Penguins dominated in singles. Senior Ghada Dirninger made quick work of Redmile at the No. 5 spot, 6-0, 6-1. Then senior Julia Marko quickly dispatched CSU’s Oihane Vicario 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 1 position.

At No. 6, junior Yoana Dudova needed a tiebreaker in the second set to see off Frogner 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Then finally, Cedeno won the match-clincher at the No. 4 spot, defeating Franz in three hard-fought sets 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

As Franz’s service return fell wide after Cedeno’s serve, she let out a scream of jubilation, as her teammates mobbed her on the court in celebration.

“Even now, I’m getting goosebumps (thinking about it). It’s a great feeling — I wish I could put it into words everything that I felt in that moment, but unfortunately I cannot,” Marko said. “In that moment, all the work from the past year, it literally pays off. We had a great fall, and we’ve had a great season. In my opinion, out of my four years, I think this one was the best. I think we were really able to step up and get that win. So I’m really happy that all the work that we put in paid off.”

As seniors, Minich and Marko have now been a part of three conference championship teams during their four years at YSU. The team’s third senior, Dirninger, joined the program before the start of this season after transferring from Division II Southwest Baptist in Missouri.

“It’s definitely special. I’ve been talking with the girls and with Lili before, but I think this one is the most important because it’s our last one,” Marko said. “We wanted to finish our college career with really great memories, but also by winning. I think it being our last year makes it even more special than the ones before.”

It’s hard for Sopel to put into words what Minich and Marko have meant to the program. They both will graduate as some of the most successful and decorated players to have ever come through the program.

“I’ve been really blessed, very lucky to have had the captains that I’ve had over the years,” Sopel said. “When they get to that senior year, they get to be captain and get that leadership (responsibility). Those two embraced it. … Everything that they have done, to where we ended up this weekend, it’s a lot thanks to their work and thanks to their leadership. They mean a lot to the program, they mean a lot to me, and it’s going to be very hard to see them go.”

YSU’s first round matchup against No. 3 seed Michigan is set for 1 p.m. on Friday in Ann Arbor.