DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team dropped just nine games in the three singles matches to finish as the Huskies swept Saint Louis, 4-0, in the season finale on Monday (April 17) at the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House. 

"The past two weeks we let some great chances slip through hands and we stressed the importance of finishing strong," said NIU head coach Patrick Fisher. "Today, we did that and I'm really proud of our guys for not living in the past and making the best of this opportunity to play today with the energy and spirit they played with. I'm not surprised, these guys are all high character people that never give in, no matter the circumstances. There is a reason Huskie tennis has not had a losing season the last 12 years running."

Mikael Vollbach and Cheng En Tsai earned their 15th doubles victory with a 6-2 win over Theo Ortis and Ryota Fukushima. Iker Gaztambide Arrastia and Christopher Norlin meanwhile completed a perfect 8-0 mark in doubles, topping Andres Castellanos and Luca Lo Nardo as the Huskies claimed the first point of the contest. 

Oliver Valentinsson put the first singles point on the board for NIU at number, scoring a 6-1, 6-1 win against Fukushima for his 13th win of the season. At number three, Vollbach bettered Adam Behun, 6-2, 6-1, to collect his 14th singles victory, tied for the team lead with Gaztambide Arrastia.

NIU closed out the contest as En Tsai finished a 6-3, 6-1 win against Ortis at number two. Gaztambide Arrastia was just a game away from a win as he led Lo Nardo, 6-1, 5-2, when the match was called. 

The Huskies conclude the season with a 13-10 dual match record. 

NIU 5, Saint Louis 0

Singles 
1. Oliver Valentinsson (NIU) def. Ryota Fukushima (SLU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Cheng En Tsai (NIU) def. Theo Ortis (SLU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Mikael Vollbach (NIU) def. Adam Behun (SLU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Iker Gaztambide Arrastia (NIU) def. Luca Lo Nardo (SLU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Jonathan Sadowski (SLU) vs. Christopher Norlin (NIU) no result
6. Sansh Kumar (SLU) vs. Armin Koschtojan (NIU) no result

Doubles 
1. Mikael Vollbach/Cheng En Tsai (NIU) def. Theo Ortis/Ryota Fukushima (SLU) 6-2
2. Iker Gaztambide Arrastia/Christopher Norlin (NIU) def. Andres Castellanos/Luca Lo Nardo (SLU) 6-3
3. Guy Dagan/Christopher Knutson (NIU) vs. Adam Behun/Eliott Ekindi (SLU) 2-5, unfinished