YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – IUPUI men's tennis kicks off Horizon League play this weekend with two matches at Youngstown State. The Jags will take on the Penguins on Saturday (March 27) and Sunday (March 28) with both matches starting at 1 p.m.

IUPUI is coming off of a 1-6 loss to Butler the last time the Jags took the court. IUPUI sits at 4-5 overall on the season but is just 1-5 away from home. The last road win for IUPUI was a 4-3 win over Austin Peay on Feb. 13.

Alex Jochim leads the team in singles play with a 4-4 record on the season. Four other Jaguars – Sean Bailey, Eric Hollingsworth, Ethan Mardanus-Budiono and Colton Morehart – are all second on the team with three singles wins this year.

In doubles play, the duo of Mardanus-Budiono and Bailey are on a five-match winning streak and sit at 5-1 on the year. Since moving to playing the No. 2 doubles matches, the duo has not lost this season.

ABOUT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Youngstown State comes in to the opening week of league play having won its last two matches and seven of its last eight. The Penguins earned a 6-1 win over Duquesne the last time they took the court.

The well-balanced lineup for the Penguins is led by Laurentiu Mandocescu with a 9-3 record at the No. 2 singles spot. Vasilis Vardakis is second on the team at 8-4, all at the No. 1 spot. Three other Penguins have seven singles wins this season.

The Penguins have a .500 record in doubles play at 17-17 with Joao Garretto and David Moreno teaming for a team-best record of 5-3.

ALL-TIME VS YOUNGSTOWN STATE
IUPUI is 5-2 all-time against Youngstown State but has lost both matches against the Penguins since joining the Horizon League. The last match between the two teams was in 2019 when Youngstown State earned a 5-2 win.