March 1, 2008

Rockford, Ill.  - For the second straight day, the Northern Illinois men's tennis team lost just one match and earned the 6-1 non-conference victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers at the Clock Tower Racquet Club on Saturday afternoon.

 

"We played very well today," NIU head men's tennis coach Pontus Hiort said. "It was good to see some consistency from the guys."

 

With the victory, NIU improves to 4-3 on the season, while Eastern Illinois falls to 4-5.

 

NIU junior Brian Livingston (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) and senior Adam Ford (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) opened the day with a 8-4 win over Eastern Illinois' Robert Stedman and Chris Thomas at No. 1 doubles. Livingston would later defeat Jeff Rutherford (6-4, 6-1) at No. 1 singles, while Ford picked up the 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Vuk Milicevic at No. 3 singles.

 

At No. 2 doubles, Huskie senior Alex Friesen (Vancouver, British Columbia/Burnaby Central) and Jimmy Chu (Lima, Peru/San Augustin) earned 8-1 victory over EIU's Jordan Nestrud and Sean Bush. Friesen also claimed the 6-2, 6-2 win over Stedman at No. 2 singles, while Chu upended Nestrud (4-6, 6-1, 6-3) at No. 4 singles.

 

NIU swept the doubles point as freshman Matt Hansen (Topeka, Kan./Miami Online (FL)) and Diego Zegarra-Ballon (Lima, Peru/Markham College Prep) downed Rutherford and Milicevic, 8-6, at No. 3 doubles. Huskie sophomore Javier Bernabe (Segovia, Spain/IES Mariano Quintanilla) earned the last singles victory for NIU at No. 5 singles, with the 6-0, 7-6 win over Thomas.

 

Men's Tennis

Northern Illinois 6, Eastern Illinois 1

March 1 * Clock Tower Racquet Club * Rockford, Illinois

 

Singles:
No. 1: Brian Livingston (NIU) def. Jeff Rutherford (EIU), 6-4, 6-1
No. 2: Alex Friesen (NIU) def. Robert Stedman (EIU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 3: Adam Ford (NIU) def. Vuk Milicevic (EIU), 6-3, 6-2
No. 4: Jimmy Chu (NIU) def. Jordan Nestrud (EIU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
No. 5: Javier Bernabe (NIU) def. Chris Thomas (EIU), 6-0, 7-6
No. 6: Felipe Gama (EIU) def. Diego Zegarra-Ballon (NIU), 6-3, 6-4

 

Doubles:
No. 1: Livingston/Ford (NIU) def. Stedman/Thomas (EIU), 8-4
No. 2: Friesen/Chu (NIU) def. Nestrud/Sean Bush, 8-1
No. 3: Matt Hansen/Zegarra-Ballon (NIU) def. Rutherford/Milicevic (EIU), 8-6

##NIU##