St. Petersburg, Fla. - Monday afternoon marked the first outdoor match for the Northern Illinois men's tennis team this season, but the Huskies did not miss a beat as NIU earned the 9-0 triumph over Eckert College.
Using the Division II rules, NIU earned a single point for each victory they earned against Eckerd.
With the victory, NIU improves to 5-3 on the season, while Eckerd falls to 0-5.
"We played pretty well," NIU head coach Pontus Hiort said. "It was our first match outside, which is always pretty difficult. We made some adjustments and we were able to make the most of it."
Junior Brian Livingston (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) got the ball rolling for the Huskies with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Ben Maxwell. Livingston later teamed up with Adam Ford (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) to pick up the 8-0 win over Maxwell and Hisashi Sato at No. 1 doubles. Ford would also earn the 6-0, 2-0 default win over Colton Jacobs at No. 3 singles.
NIU senior Alex Friesen kept the ball rolling for the Huskies with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Sato at No. 2 singles. Friesen also teamed up with junior Jimmy Chu (Lima, Peru/San Augustin) for the 8-0 win over Jacobs and Alex McDonald at No. 2 doubles.
Chu later claimed the 6-0, 6-0 win over McDonald at the No. 4 slot, while teammate Matt Hansen (Topeka, Kan./Miami Online (FL)) whitewashed JP Walker, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles. Hansen would later pair up with Diego Zegarra-Ballon (Lima, Peru/Markham College Prep) to claim the 8-0 win over Holt Weeks and Walker at No. 3 doubles.
Sophomore Javier Bernabe (Segovia, Spain/IES Mariano Quintanilla) picked up the 6-1, 6-2 win over Weeks at No. 6 singles to complete the shutout for the Huskies on Monday afternoon.
Men's Tennis
Northern Illinois 9, Eckerd 0
March 10 * St. Petersburg, Fla.
Singles:
No. 1 - Brian Livingston, NIU, def. Ben Maxwell, EC, 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 - Alex Friesen, NIU, def. Hisashi Sato, EC, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 - Adam Ford, NIU, def. Colton Jacobs, EC, 6-0, 2-0 default
No. 4 - Jimmy Chu, NIU, def. Alex McDonald, EC, 6-0, 6-0
No. 5 - Matt Hansen, NIU, def. JP Walker, EC, 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 - Javier Bernabe, NIU, def. Holt Weeks, EC, 6-1, 6-2
Doubles:
No. 1 - Adam Ford/Brian Livingston, NIU, def. Ben Maxwell/Hisashi Sato, EC, 8-0
No. 2 - Alex Friesen/Jimmy Chu, NIU, def. Colton Jacobs/Alex McDonald, EC, 8-0
No. 3 - Matt Hansen/Diego Zegarra-Ballon, NIU, def Holt Weeks/JP Walker, EC, 8-0
##NIU##
