Men's Tennis Headed Back to Horizon League Championship Title Match

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – For the third consecutive year, the Belmont University men's tennis team will contend for a Horizon League Championship title as the top-seeded Bruins downed second-seeded Youngstown State 4-2 Saturday in the 2025 Horizon League Men's Tennis Championship semifinals. Belmont (12-10) was impressive in doubles outdoors at the Varsity Tennis Center on the University of Michigan's campus with two 6-3 set wins before gritting out a trio of singles victories throughout the lineup.
 
The No. 1 seed in the league's South Division, the Bruins fended off a late singles push by the Penguins (14-10) with key triumphs from sophomore Stefan Vedovelli and junior Eli Mizerski.
 
Horizon League Freshman of the Year Charlie Robin continued his outstanding singles play with a dominant 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles to give Belmont a 2-0 lead in the match following the doubles point. Also winning in straight sets, Mizerski closed out Youngstown State's Mihai Haita 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5 singles to make it 3-0 Bruins.
 
Despite Belmont being in control, the No. 2 North Division-seeded Penguins attempted to make things interesting with two tightly-contested wins at the No. 3 and No. 6 singles spots. Youngtown State's Ethan Dasset outlasted senior Diego Castro 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on court three and Viktor Van Craenenbroeck edged freshman Morgan Woodson 7-6, 6-4 on court six.
 
Needing just one more singles win and junior Esunge Ndumbe in a third set with the Penguins' Onder Balci at the top of the lineup, the Bruins got clutch play from Vedovelli. Coming back from a set down, Vedovelli prevailed against Youngstown State's Matteo Ceradelli, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 4 singles.
 
The duo of Ndumbe and Robin clinched the pivotal doubles point at the No. 2 position as they defeated the Penguins' Balci and Dasset 6-3. Winning by an identical score at No. 3 doubles, Castro and Mizerski dismissed Craenenbroeck and Haita.
 
The top doubles match went unfinished.
 
For the second-straight year, Belmont will take on No. 1 North Division seed Cleveland State in the Horizon League Championship title match Sunday afternoon. Last April, the Vikings (13-11) took home the postseason league crown with a 4-2 win over the Bruins.
 
Of Note

• Belmont enters championship Sunday on a season-best six-match winning streak.
• The Bruins won the 2023 Horizon League Championship with a 4-1 victory over No. 2 South Division seed Tennessee Tech.
• Belmont will play for its third conference tournament title in five seasons as the Bruins won the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Championship.

Up Next
First serve Sunday between Belmont and Cleveland State is set for 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET. The championship match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
How to Follow
Follow Belmont men's tennis on social media – @BelmontMTennis on X, formerly Twitter, and @belmontmtennis on Instagram – for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.