AURORA, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team earned its third consecutive 7-0 sweep as the Huskies brushed aside St. Francis (Ill.) on Sunday afternoon at Vaughn Tennis Center. The Huskies won all three of their matches this weekend without dropping a point as they improved to 7-4 on the season. 

NIU shuffled its doubles lineup on Sunday and took two of the three matches to pick up the first point of the match. Freshman Mikko Malinen (Malmo, Sweden) and sophomore Victor Spolidorio (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap) teamed at number one to top Ian Millan Vetokhin and Avilash Mishra, 7-5, while freshman David Pata (Bucharest, Romania/Emil Racovita) and senior Erich Schuette (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) claimed a 6-2 win at number three against Thomas Schieffer and Fernando Turiel. 

In the singles, NIU swept each of the six matches. Spolidorio didn't drop a game in his 6-0, 6-0 victory at number four over Mike Hasler. Malinen and junior Shao-Yu Yu (Taipei, Taiwan/Jiang Guo High School) were both nearly perfect, dropping just two games each. Malinen won 6-2, 6-0 at number three against Miguel Rayos del Sol and Yu earned a 6-0, 6-2 win at number five over Turiel.

At number six, Schuette dropped just three games in a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Martin Rayos del Sol. Pata was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Mishra at number two and senior Eric Marbach (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) topped Vetokhin, 6-4, 6-1, at number one. 

The Huskies will be back in action on Saturday, February 23, when they host Butler at Boylan Tennis Center in Rockford. 

NIU 7, St. Francis (Ill.) 0

Singles 
1. Eric Marbach (NIU) def. Ian Millan Vetokhin (USF) 6-4, 6-1
2. David Pata (NIU) def. Avilash Mishra (USF) 6-3, 6-2
3. Mikko Malinen (NIU) def. Miguel Rayos del Sol (USF) 6-2, 6-0
4. Victor Spolidorio (NIU) def. Mike Hasler (USF) 6-0, 6-0
5. Shao-Yu Yu (NIU) def. Fernando Turiel (USF) 6-0, 6-2
6. Erich Schuette (NIU) def. Martin Rayos del Sol (USF) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles 
1. Mikko Malinen/Victor Spolidorio (NIU) def. Ian Millan Vetokhin/Avilash Mishra (USF) 7-5
2. Mike Hasler/Miguel Rayos del Sol (USF) def. Eric Marbach/Shao-Yu Yu (NIU) 6-4
3. David Pata/Erich Schuette (NIU) def. Thomas Schieffer/Fernando Turiel (USF) 6-2