Men's Tennis | March 30

Sycamore, Ill. - The Northern Illinois men's tennis team won its fourth straight Mid-American Conference dual match Saturday as the Huskies, playing a home match outside for the first time in 2024, defeated UIC 6-1.  NIU remains undefeated in home matches this season with a perfect 9-0 record, with Saturday's contest played at the Sycamore High School courts. 

"The guys did a great job taking advantage of the windy conditions," said NIU head coach René Vidal. "We look forward to next week's trip to Buffalo and Toledo."
 
NIU (16-3, 5-1 MAC) took the doubles point before earning five wins in singles play.
 
Cheng En Tsai (Taipei, Taiwan/Abraham Baldwin CC) and Mikael Vollbach (Rothis, Austria) won 6-1 at No. 1 doubles after receiving MAC doubles team of the week honors last week. Saul Berdullas (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) and Armin Koschtojan (Halle (Saale), Germany) earned a 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles to clinch the point.
 
Tsai started singles play off with a win to push the Huskies up 2-0. He earned the win at No. 1 singles 6-3, 6-1 over Aleska Bucan. Koschtojan picked up another win for NIU at No. 5 singles with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) win.
 
Iker Gaztambide Arrastia (Pamplona, Spain) clinched the dual win for NIU with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles.
 
Christopher Norlin (Stockholm, Sweden) added to the Huskies lead with a controlling 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles. Saul Berdullas closed out the day with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) win at No. 3 singles.
 
The Huskies return to the court on Friday, April 5 at 12 p.m. as they travel to Buffalo.
 
 
NIU Huskies 6, University of Illinois-Chicago 1
 
Singles competition
1. Cheng En Tsai (NIU-M) def. Aleska Bucan (UIC) 6-3, 6-1
2. Robinson Le Meur (UIC) def. Mikael Vollbach (NIU-M) 6-4, 6-3
3. Saul Berdullas (NIU-M) def. Edoardo Bottino (UIC) 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
4. Iker Gaztambide (NIU-M) def. Gustavo Schwebel (UIC) 6-3, 6-1
5. Armin Koschtojan (NIU-M) def. Mihailo Savic (UIC) 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
6. Christopher Norlin (NIU-M) def. Artem Iermolov (UIC) 6-3, 6-1
 
Doubles competition
1. Mikael Vollbach/Cheng En Tsai (NIU-M) def. Gustavo Schwebel/Mihailo Savic (UIC) 6-1
2. Saul Berdullas/Armin Koschtojan (NIU-M) def. Aleska Bucan/Robinson Le Meur (UIC) 6-3
3. Iker Gaztambide/Christopher Norlin (NIU-M) def. Mihailo Savic/Artem Iermolov (UIC) 5-4
 
Match Notes:
NIU Huskies 16-3, 5-1 MAC
UIC 9-7, 1-5 MAC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,4,6,3,2,5)
 
-- NIU --