DEKALB, Ill. -- The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team was picked to finish third in the Mia-American Conference preseason poll released on Wednesday. The Huskies will open the dual match season this Saturday, Jan. 20, when they travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to meet Drake and Tennessee Tech. 

In the preseason poll, voted on by the league's head coaches, Western Michigan, the defending regular season champion, was selected as the preseason favorite, followed by Buffalo, NIU, Ball State, Toledo and Binghamton. Buffalo was chosen as the favorite to win the conference tournament while Western Michigan and NIU also received votes. 

Senior Georg Lundkvist (Linkoping, Sweden/Lindkopings Kommun) was an All-MAC Second Team honoree as season ago as he and fellow senior Louis-Philippe Hamel (Drummondville, Quebec, Canada) tied for the team lead with 12 dual match victories last season. 

Lundkvist also led NIU in the fall with nine wins while senior senior Eric Marbach (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) was just behind with eight victories in the fall. Lundkvist and Marbach also paired together to win a team-high eight matches during the fall season, while reaching the Round of 16 at the ITA Regionals, after posting a 22-13 record during the 2016-17 campaign. 

NIU is making it second trip to Des Moines, Iowa, this season after competing in the Drake Invitational during the fall. Lundkvist reached the semifinals in NIU's first trip to Drake this season while Hamel scored a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Barnaby Thorold of the host Bulldogs. 

Drake recorded a 17-12 overall record a season ago, winning the Missouri Valley Tournament before falling to Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs begin this season as an affiliate member of the Summit League and were chosen as the preseason favorite in the conference. Vinny Gillespie was the Missouri Valley Player of the Year last season and returns to lead the Bulldogs. 

Tennessee Tech has won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season crown in five of the last six seasons, along with the last two OVC Tournament titles. Last season, the Golden Eagles posted a 13-7 overall record and fell to California in the NCAA Tournament First Round. Tennessee Tech returns four players from last season, including two-time OVC Player of the Year Eduardo Mena; the Golden Eagles opened their season on Monday (Jan. 15) with a 6-1 setback against Tennessee.

Following Saturday's trip to Iowa, the Huskies will return home as they host Wisconsin-Whitewater and Cardinal Stritch on Thursday, Jan. 25.