Sept. 29, 2011

DeKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois women's tennis team hits the road for the first time of the season this weekend as they travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., for the Fall MAC Invitational. The Huskies will match up against familiar Mid-American Conference foes Ball State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Toledo, and Western Michigan.

The team is coming off a three-week break after experiencing some early success at the annual NIU Huskie Invite. NIU walked away with both a singles championship by sophomore Haley Dekkinga and a doubles championship by Dekkinga and freshman Nelle Youel. Youel also finished her first career outing with a perfect 3-0 mark.

The early success of the Huskies comes from a spark generated by its youth. But NIU head coach Ryun Ferrell knows there is still some work to be done.

"I would like to see us take that next step with this team," said Ferrell. "We are pretty young and feeling our way through this fall season. The biggest thing I want to see is the fight and desire to be out there. The victories will come as long as we put up a good fight."

The Fall MAC Invitational is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. CT on Friday, Sep. 30, and will conclude on Saturday, Oct. 1, with matches beginning at 8:00 a.m. CT.