DES MOINES, Iowa – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision to Gonzaga on Monday afternoon (Jan. 20) to finish with a split of its two opening weekend matches. The Huskies won the doubles point against the Bulldogs but were unable to replicate that success in singles. 

"We got off to a great start in doubles and positioned ourselves well in first sets in singles, we just didn't finish, losing three first set tiebreakers really hurt us," said NIU head coach Patrick Fisher. "That set the tone for the rest of the way it was an uphill battle. We have to keep being aggressive and trying to dictate play when it's tight, and we weren't today, Gonzaga was just better at every spot in singles today."

Junior Kristopher Ortega (Homer Glen, Ill./Seton Home Study School) and senior Shao-Yu Yu (Taipei, Taiwan/Jiang Guo High School) won the first doubles match to finish, 6-2, at number three. Gonzaga captured the doubles match at number one before junior Victor Spolidorio (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap) and sophomore Mikko Malinen (Malmo, Sweden) scored a 6-4 victory at number four to take the first point of the day. 

In singles, senior Bor Schweiger Muzar (Crnomelj, Slovenia/Gimnm), Ortega and Malinen all went into first set tiebreaks, but Gonzaga won all three to take the momentum early in singles play. Malinen forced a third set at number four before dropping a 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 decision to Theo McDonald and Yu went three sets at number six, falling 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 to Oliver Andersson.

NIU will return to action next weekend as the Huskies travel to Madison, Wis., for a pair of matches. NIU will meet North Dakota in a neutral site contest on Saturday, January 25, before facing Wisconsin on Sunday, January 26. 

Gonzaga 6, NIU 1

Singles 
1. Sam Feit (Gonzaga) def. Bor Schweiger Muzar (NIU), 7-6, 6-4
2. Matthew Hollingworth (Gonzaga) def. David Pata (NIU), 6-4, 6-3
3. Eric Hadigian (Gonzaga) def. Kristopher Ortega (NIU), 7-6, 6-3
4. Theo McDonald (Gonzaga) def. Mikko Malinen (NIU), 7-6, 6-3, 7-5
5. Vincent Rettke (Gonzaga) def. Victor Spolidorio (NIU), 6-4, 6-4
6. Oliver Andersson (Gonzaga) def. Shao-Yu Yu (NIU), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3

Doubles
1. Sam Feit/Matthew Hollingworth (Gonzaga) def. Bor Schweiger Muzar/David Pata (NIU), 6-4
2. Victor Spolidorio/Mikko Malinen (NIU) def. Eric Hadigian/Theo McDonald (Gonzaga), 6-4
3. Kristopher Ortega/Shao-Yu Yu (NIU) def. Oliver Andersson/Kyle Everly (Gonzaga), 6-2