In four seasons at the helm of the NIU Men[apos]s Tennis program, Pontus Hiort has led his teams to a 48-43 overall record in match play, including an 18-6 mark in his first year. Last season, Hiort[apos]s senior-less team finished with a 10-12 record and advanced to the semi-finals of the MAC Men[apos]s Tennis Championships for the third year in a row. His Huskies have posted double-digit win totals in three of his four seasons.
Hiort began his coaching career at Northern Illinois University as a volunteer coach in 1997-98, and ultimately became the head men[apos]s tennis coach in 2003-04. Hiort did double-duty as the head coach for the NIU women[apos]s tennis team from 2004-06.
In Hiort[apos]s first season as the head coach of the NIU men[apos]s program, the native of Sweden led the Huskies to an 18-6 overall record, a national ranking as high as 73rd and their second consecutive berth in the Mid-American Conference Championship match. The run to the MAC summit included NIU[apos]s first victory over perennial league power and tourney host Ball State since April 20, 1974.
Hiort followed up his highly-successful rookie campaign with a solid 13-10 record season in 2005 where he coached one of the greatest individual performances in the history of NIU men[apos]s tennis. That season, Wily Gali (2004-05) recorded 31 singles victories, the third-highest single-season total in school history. Gali was named First Team All-MAC, earned The Vredevelt Sportsman of the Year Award and was the first player in NIU men[apos]s tennis history to be named MAC Player of the Year.
Upon losing key contributors like Gali, the 2005-06 men[apos]s tennis team found itself in a rebuilding mode that saw a true freshman ascend to the No. 1 singles position for the Huskies. Under Hiort[apos]s able tutelage, freshman Brian Livingston became one of the most successful first-year singles competitors in the history of the program. Hiort guided Livingston to a 20-win season, garnering second team All-MAC honors and the MAC Newcomer of the Year trophy.
Throughout the course of the 2006-07 season, Hiort and the Huskies endured a challenging schedule as they squared off against four nationally-ranked opponents, including the 38th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, en route to a 10-12 record in match play. The young team struggled early but bounced back to finish the season strong by winning four of the last six matches, including a first round victory over Buffalo at the MAC Championships.
Hiort has tutored some of greatest tennis players in NIU men[apos]s tennis history, including Gali and Livingston. Throughout Hiort[apos]s tenure as head and assistant coach, he has worked with seven different players that earned All-MAC notoriety, three Vredevelt Sportsmanship Award winners, two MAC Newcomers of the Year and one MAC Player of the Year.
During his time as former head coach Steven Rodecap[apos]s right-hand man, Hiort helped lead the Huskies to three consecutive winning seasons starting in 2000-01. He was on hand as NIU charted new territory by making the school[apos]s first appearance in the MAC championship match in 2003-04 after upsetting Western Michigan University on NIU[apos]s very own Gullikson Courts in the league semifinals.
A veteran of major tournaments in his native Sweden as a player, Hiort brought extensive tennis knowledge gained as a competitor. In fact, Hiort at one-time earned a ranking of No. 89 in Sweden.
On the collegiate level, Hiort played No. 1 and No. 2 singles for Murray State University from 1992-96 and garnered All-Ohio Valley Conference honors while also earning the 1996 OVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor.
Hiort received a Bachelor of Arts degree for history and German in 1995. He completed his master[apos]s degree in history from MSU in 1997 and earned a Ph.D. in history from NIU in 2007.
