DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's tennis team completed a 3-1 weekend at Chick Evans Field House with a 7-0 victory over St. Francis on Saturday.
 
NIU (6-5) had a challenging weekend, playing a pair of doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday on campus.  The Huskies swept Friday's matches with a 7-0 win over Eastern Illinois and a 6-1 triumph over Lewis University. NIU's only blemish on the weekend came in the first match of the day on Saturday as the Huskies were edged 4-3 by Valparaiso before the win over the Fighting Saints to cap the weekend.
 
"I thought overall it was a good weekend," NIU head coach Eric Burns said. "Saturday was a little disappointing with the first match, but we battled hard and just came up a little short of winning all four of our matches this weekend. Still 3-1 and a positive. We have a winning record going into conference play. Now we need to put in some final work to get ready for MAC play next Friday."
 
Diana Lukyanova led the way for NIU, going a perfect 4-0 in singles play on the weekend. She did not lose a set all weekend. Maria Potsi extended her winning streak to eight with three wins in the two days. Lukyanova has also won eight consecutive matches heading into Mid-American Conference play.
 
The Huskies have won four of their last five matches, taking down Chicago State on Wednesday to begin the week.
 
The NIU women's tennis team returns to the court Friday when the Huskies open conference action by playing host to Bowling Green. The match will start at 1 p.m. at the Boylan Tennis Center in Rockford, Ill.
 
-NIU-