April 3, 2011

Full Match Results

ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Northern Illinois men's tennis team fell to nationally-ranked Drake, 7-0, on Sunday afternoon at the Boylan Tennis Center.

The Bulldogs (14-2) took control early, taking the doubles point while dropping just one game. But NIU (9-11) responded with much more positive play in singles.

"The top half of our lineup, as they have all year, kept us in the match for a little bit," said NIU head coach Patrick Fisher. "I think at one, two and three, that is the best tennis we have played all year, even though we didn't get any results. Drake is a very good team, this was a big challenge and, in singles, we played okay."

Axel Lagerlof and Maksym Bartiuk both played tough, three-set matches at the top two singles positions. Lagerlof took the first set against Mauricio Ballivian 6-3 at number one. Ballivian responded however, taking the next two sets, 6-2, 6-2. Bartiuk also on the first set in his match at number two, narrowly bettering Anis Ghorbel, 7-6, to claim an early advantage. Ghorbel answered with a 6-2 win in the second set and took the third set tiebreaker, 12-10.

At number three, Roman Turtygin played a tight match with Drake's James McKie but came up just short, falling 6-4, 6-4.

Drake, the No. 71-ranked team in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, also claimed singles victories at four, five and six.

"The positive thing is that, from here on out, nobody that we play is going to be better than Drake, said Fisher. " We just need to build on this and hopefully it translates next weekend."

The Huskies return to the road next weekend for three matches in the State of Indiana. NIU will play at Ball State on Friday, April 8, before travelling to IUPUI on Saturday, April 9, and IPFW on Sunday, April 10.