BUFFALO, N.Y. -- After splitting the first six points of the match, Buffalo claimed the final match to finish to earn a 4-3 win over the Northern Illinois University men's tennis team in the Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinals on Friday afternoon at Miller Tennis Center. 

Buffalo (13-9) won the doubles point with wins at number two and three. Ethan Nittolo and Matthew Johnson were victorious, 6-1, at number three before Villhelm Fridell and Hao Sheng Koay scored a 6-2 win at number two, giving the Bulls a 1-0 advantage. 

The first singles match to finish came at number six where Vidit Vaghela gave Buffalo a second point with a 6-3, 6-1 win over senior Tom Hjertonsson (Gothenburg, Sweden/Akademi Båstad Gymnasium). 

NIU won each of the next two matches to even the dual, 2-2. At number four, senior Georg Lundkvist (Linkoping, Sweden/Lindkopings Kommun) scored a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Petr Vodak. Freshman Kristopher Ortega (Homer Glen, Ill./Seton Home Study School) pulled the Huskies even with a 7-6, 6-3, win over Koay at number one. 

Each of the final three matches to finish went to a third set and the Bulls were the first to take a third point as Nickolas Frisk downed sophomore Bor Schweiger Muzar (Crnomelj, Slovenia/Gimnm), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, at number five to bring Buffalo within a point of the victory

With a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 triumph by senior Louis-Philippe Hamel (Drummondville, Quebec, Canada) at number three over Nittolo, the Huskies evened the dual again as the match came down to number two singles. 

Fridell outlasted senior Eric Marbach (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) in the final match to finish, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, to give the Bulls the victory. 

Buffalo advances to face Western Michigan, the winner of Friday's first semifinal, in the championship match on Saturday. NIU finishes its season with a 15-8 overall record, the sixth 15-plus win campaign in the last seven years. 

Buffalo 4, NIU 3

Singles
1. Kristopher Ortega (NIU) def. Hao Sheng Koay (UB), 7-6 (4), 6-3
2. Villhelm Fridell (UB) def. Eric Marbach (NIU), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3
3. Louis-Philippe Hamel (NIU) def. Ethan Nittolo (UB), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
4. Georg Lundkvist (NIU) def. Petr Vodak (UB), 7-6 (6), 6-4
5. Nickolas Frisk (UB) def. Bor Schweiger Muzar (NIU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
6. Vidit Vaghela (UB) def. Tom Hjertonsson (NIU), 6-3, 6-1

*Order of Finish: 6,4,1,5,3,2

Doubles
1. Eric Marbach/Tom Hjertonsson (NIU) led Petr Vodak/Vidit Vaghela (UB), 4-3, unfinished
2. Villhelm Fridell/Hao Sheng Koay (UB) def. Kristopher Ortega/Bor Schweiger Muzar (NIU), 6-2
3. Ethan Nittolo/Matthew Johnson (UB) def. Georg Lundkvist/Louis-Philippe Hamel (NIU), 6-1

*Order of Finish: 3,2