DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team earned its fourth and fifth consecutive wins as the Huskies swept both Wright State and Eastern Illinois, 7-0, on Saturday at Chick Evans Field House. With the pair of wins, NIU improves to 6-4 on the season. 

"Today we were perfect and that rarely happens," said NIU head coach Patrick Fisher. "I'm happy that our guys stayed focused the entire time, it shows that our guys are improving and it's great to see us make progress."

NIU won all three doubles matches to pick up the first point of the match against Wright State. In the singles, the Huskies won five of the six matches in straight sets. Sophomore Kristopher Ortega (Homer Glen, Ill./Seton Home Study School) and sophomore Victor Spolidorio (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap) each surrendered just one game in their victories. Ortega was a 6-1, 6-0 victor over Fernando Nardelli while Spolidorio won, 6-0, 6-1, over Leighton Brandon.

Freshman Mikko Malinen (Malmo, Sweden) was a 6-2, 6-2, winner over Javier Alvarez de la Villa at number five while senior Eric Marbach (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) and junior Bor Schweiger Muzar (Crnomelj, Slovenia/Gimnm) each lost just five games in their victories at number one and four, respectively. 

In the only match to go three sets, freshman David Pata (Bucharest, Romania/Emil Racovita) outlasted Maccarini, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, at number three. 

The Huskies again took all three doubles matches against Eastern Illinois. With their pair of wins at number one, Marbach and Ortega have now won five consecutive doubles matches. 

Just as he did against Wright State, Ortega dropped just one game in defeating Mike Jansen, 6-1, 6-0, at number two. Junior Shao-Yu Yu (Taipei, Taiwan/Jiang Guo High School) and senior Erich Schuette (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) each lost just two games in their victories. Yu was a 6-2, 6-0 winner at number five while Schuette earned a 6-0, 6-2 win at number six. 

Marbach topped Freddie O'Brien at number one, 6-2, 6-4 and Spolidorio was a straight-sets winner, 6-4-6-1, against Luka Knieling at number four. Malinen was the only Huskie that needed three sets as he earned a 6-3, 2-6, 10-7 win over Daniel Hernandez at number three. 


NIU 7, Wright State 0

Singles
1. Eric Marbach (NIU) def. Param Pun (WSU) 6-1, 6-4
2. Kristopher Ortega (NIU) def. Fernando Nardelli (WSU) 6-1, 6-0
3. David Pata (NIU) def. Lorenzo Maccarini (WSU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
4. Bor Schweiger Muzar (NIU) def. Donovan Cellupica-Towers (WSU) 6-3, 6-0
5. Mikko Malinen (NIU) def. Javier Alvarez de la Villa (WSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Victor Spolidorio (NIU) def. Leighton Brandon (WSU) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles
1. Eric Marbach/Kristopher Ortega (NIU) def. Param Pun/Lorenzo Maccarini (WSU) 7-6
2. Victor Spolidorio/Mikko Malinen (NIU) def. Donovan Cellupica-Towers/Fernando Nardelli (WSU) 6-2
3. David Pata/Erich Schuette (NIU) def. Leighton Brandon/Javier Alvarez de la Villa (WSU) 6-4


NIU 7, Eastern Illinois 0

Singles
1. Eric Marbach (NIU) def. Freddie O'Brien (EIU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Kristopher Ortega (NIU) def. Mike Jansen (EIU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Mikko Malinen (NIU) def. Daniel Hernandez (EIU) 6-3, 2-6, 10-7
4. Victor Spolidorio (NIU) def. Luka Knieling (EIU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Shao-Yu Yu (NIU) def. Logan Charbonneau (EIU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Erich Schuette (NIU) def. Braden Davis (EIU) 6-0, 6-2

Doubles
1. Eric Marbach/Kristopher Ortega (NIU) def. Mike Jansen/Daniel Hernandez (EIU) 7-5
2. Victor Spolidorio/Mikko Malinen (NIU) def. Freddie O'Brien/Logan Charbonneau (EIU) 6-4
3. Erich Schuette/Shao-Yu Yu (NIU) def. Luka Knieling/Braden Davis (EIU) 6-2