DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team will open the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Friday, April 28, when they face top-seeded Buffalo in the semifinals. The match between the Huskies and Bulls will take place at 9 a.m., in Kalamazoo, Mich.
NIU enters the MAC Tournament with a 13-11 overall record, 2-5 in league play, and is seeded fourth at this weekend's tournament. The Huskies visited Buffalo just last Sunday (April 23) in the regular season finale, a 4-3 win by the Bulls.
"We are excited to be in the tournament and to have the opportunity to play Buffalo," said NIU head coach
Patrick Fisher. "We have had awesome practices this week and we are looking forward to the tournament. I know our guys are excited.
"In our conference, everyone knows everyone. We are so familiar with each other, so I think a lot of it is who can make the minor adjustments. The different between 4-3 and 3-4 is so minor, so it is all about who makes the adjustments the second or third time around."
The Huskies have four players who have won 10-or-more dual matches this season, led by 12 victories from juniors
Louis-Philippe Hamel (Drummondville, Quebec, Canada) and
Georg Lundkvist (Linkoping, Sweden/Lindkopings Kommun). In doubles play, Lundkvist and senior
Eric Marbach (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley/University of Denver) have recorded a 15-7 dual match record, all playing at number one, while Hamel and junior
Tom Hjertonsson (Gothenburg, Sweden/Akademi Båstad Gymnasium) have combined for 12 dual victories.
Buffalo has a 12-5 record this season, including a perfect 7-0 mark in conference play. Ethan Nittolo has 15 wins in dual matches to pace the Bulls, who are a combined 50-18 in singles matches at positions three through six.
NIU and Buffalo will be meeting for the third time this season. The Bulls won the first meeting, 5-2, on March 18 before last week's 4-3 victory. NIU won the doubles point in both dual matchups while six of the 12 singles matches over the two duals went to three sets.
"Buffalo has beaten everyone in the league, they are deservingly regular season champions, they have earned that," said Fisher. "But when you get to the tournament sometimes things balance themselves out. I think the whole tournament will be tight; that is what is great about our league, only four go (to the tournament) but legitimately all six teams are deserving of being in the tournament and are capable of beating anyone at any time."
The NIU-Buffalo semifinal will be the first of two played on Friday, with No. 2 Western Michigan hosting No. 3 Ball State in the second semifinal at 1 p.m. CT. The two semifinal winners will square off on Saturday, April 29, in the conference final at noon CT. All matches are scheduled to be played at the Sorensen Courts on campus at WMU, but could be moved indoors to West Hills Athletic Club in necessary.
