DEKALB, Ill. -- The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team will host four matches this weekend with a pair of matches in DeKalb on Thursday, Jan. 25, and a pair of matches in Rockford on Friday, Jan. 26. The Huskies welcome Wisconsin-Whitewater and Cardinal Stritch to Chick Evans Field House on Thursday and will host Saint Louis and Omaha at Boylan Tennis Center on Friday. 

"We are playing a lot (this weekend), physically it is really going to test us, especially this early in the season, playing four matches in two days," said NIU head coach Patrick Fisher. "We want to challenge our guys and I think they will be up to the challenge."

Last Saturday, Jan. 20, the Huskies split a pair of matches against Drake and Tennessee Tech to open the season. Senior Tom Hjertonsson (Gothenburg, Sweden/Akademi Båstad Gymnasium) clinched a 4-3 win for the Huskies over Tennessee Tech with his victory at fifth singles. 

NIU begins its busy weekend at 10 a.m., on Thursday when it hosts Wisconsin-Whitewater. The Warhawks will be playing their first dual match of the season on Thursday. Last season, Wisconsin-Whitewater reached the NCAA Division III Tournament Second Round. 

NIU will then host Cardinal Stritch at 2 p.m., in a match that will be the first of the season for the Wolves. Cardinal Stritch went 19-6 a season ago, including a pair of wins over NCAA Division I foes, South Dakota State and Green Bay. The Wolves reached the second round of the NAIA National Tournament. 

Saint Louis will visit the Huskies at noon on Friday in Rockford in the first dual match for the Billikens of the season. NIU and Saint Louis both participated in the River Forest Collegiate Invitational during the fall with the Huskies winning three of the four singles matches between the two teams and the Billikens winning the two doubles matches. Saint Louis posted an 8-11 record a season ago. 

The final match of the weekend for the Huskies will be against Omaha at 4 p.m., on Friday. The Mavericks opened their season with a 6-1 setback last Saturday (Jan. 20) at Wisconsin. Omaha went 9-14 a season ago and reached the Summit League Tournament final, where it fell to Denver. 

Following this weekend's home matches, the Huskies will travel to Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday, Feb. 3 to take on Cleveland State and Case Western.