ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team swept all 14 points in a pair of victories over Wright State and South Dakota State on Saturday at the Boylan Tennis Center. With the two victories, the Huskies improved to 9-2 on the season. 

NIU opened the day with a 7-0 victory over Wright State. The Raiders had a player injured in their first match of the day against South Dakota State and were only able to play with five players, meaning a 6-1 victory by senior Eric Marbach (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley/University of Denver) and junior Georg Lundkvist (Linkoping, Sweden/Lindkopings Kommun) gave the Huskies the doubles point. 

In singles action, junior Austin Russell (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South) was a double-bagel winner, 6-0, 6-0 over Jason Holloway at number five while junior Tom Hjertonsson (Gothenburg, Sweden/Akademi Båstad Gymnasium) dropped just one game in his 6-1, 6-0 victory over Carlos Estrada Sanchez at number four.

Freshman Bor Schweiger Muzar (Crnomelj, Slovenia/Gimnm) claimed a 6-4, 6-3 win at number one and Marbach was a 6-2, 6-2 winner at number two. Lundkvist needed three sets at number three, but he was victorious, 6-7, 6-1, 10-4, over Fernando Nardelli.

In the second match of the day, the Huskies swept all three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead over South Dakota State. Marbach and Lundvist earned their second win of the day with a 6-1 victory at number one, Muzar and senior Carlos Manzanas (Madrid, Spain/IES Principe Felipe) earned a 6-3 win at number two and junior Louis-Philippe Hamel (Drummondville, Quebec, Canada) paired with Hjertonsson for a 6-4 win at number three. 

NIU won in straight-sets in all six singles matches. Manzanas and Hamel each dropped just three games in their victories at four and five, respectively. Manzanas defeated Chuck Tang, 6-1, 6-2, while Hamel was also a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Lucas Pereira. 

Lundkvist earned a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Gabriel Santos at number three. Muzar and Marbach each took close first sets before finishing their matches comfortably in the second set. Muzar was a 7-5, 6-2 winner over Emerson Styles at number one and Marbach was victorious, 7-5, 6-0, over Marco Paulo Castro at number two. 

At number six, Russell took the first set, 6-2, over Elliot Ward before outlasting Ward in the second set, 7-5, to help complete a perfect 14-0 sweep of the day for NIU.  

The Huskies will return to the courts next weekend with a trio of road matches. NIU will travel to Illinois on Friday, Feb. 24, Southern Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 25, and Illinois State on Sunday, Feb. 26.

NIU 7, Wright State 0

Doubles
1. Marbach/Lundkvist (NIU) def. Nardelli/Perkins (WSU), 6-1
2. Muzar/Manzanas (NIU) def. de la Villa/Estrada Sanchez (WSU), 5-1, unfinished
3. Hamel/Hjertonsson (NIU) wins by default

Singles
1. Bor Schweiger Muzar (NIU) def. Jacob Perkins (WSU), 6-4, 6-3
2. Eric Marbach (NIU) def. Javier Alvarez de la Villa (WSU), 6-2, 6-2
3. Georg Lundkvist (NIU) def. Fernando Nardelli (WSU) 6-7, 6-1, 10-4
4. Tom Hjertonsson (NIU) def. Carlos Estrada Sanchez (WSU), 6-1, 6-0
5. Austin Russell (NIU) def. Jason Holloway (WSU), 6-0, 6-0
6. Carlos Manzanas (NIU) wins by default

NIU 7, South Dakota State 0

Doubles
1. Marbach/Lundkvist (NIU) def. Styles/Tang (SDSU), 6-1
2. Muzar/Manzanas (NIU) def. Castro/Pereira (SDSU), 6-3
3. Hamel/Hjertonsson (NIU) def. Ward/Santos (SDSU), 6-4

Singles
1. Bor Schweiger Muzar (NIU) def. Emerson Styles (SDSU), 7-5, 6-2
2. Eric Marbach (NIU) def. Marco Paulo Castro (SDSU), 7-5, 6-0
3. Georg Lundkvist (NIU) def. Gabriel Santos (SDSU), 6-2, 6-2
4. Carlos Manzanas (NIU) def. Chuck Tang (SDSU), 6-1, 6-2
5. Louis-Philippe Hamel (NIU) def. Lucas Pereira (SDSU), 6-1, 6-2
6. Austin Russell (NIU) def. Elliot Ward (SDSU), 6-2, 7-5