Men's Tennis | April 14

Sycamore, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team came up just short of a win and Mid-American Conference Championship on Sunday at the Sycamore High School Tennis Courts. NIU (18-5, 7-3 MAC) led 3-0 early in the match before WMU (16-5, 8-2 MAC) came back and won narrowly 4-3.
 
The Huskies honored their three seniors Cheng En Tsai (Taipei, Taiwan), Mikael Vollbach (Rothis, Austria) and Armin Koschtojan (Halle (Saale), Germany) after the match.
 
"We came out with a lot of energy," head coach René Vidal. "Unfortunately, as the match went on, we weren't able to take advantage of the opportunities and the momentum shifted. When the momentum shifts it's hard to get it back and we weren't able to today."
 
The Huskies will now prepare for the MAC Championships on Saturday, April 20 in Toledo, Ohio.
 
"I'll speak with the guys in the next couple of days individually and we'll figure out what the best path forward is," Vidal said. "The most important thing is to learn from the game today and process it quickly. We will work hard this week to be ready for the MAC Championships."
 
NIU took the early lead as they picked up the doubles point.
 
Iker Gaztambide Arrastia (Pamplona, Spain) and Christopher Norlin (Stockholm, Sweden) won 6-3 at No. 3 doubles. Koschtojan and Saul Berdullas (Santiage de Compostela, Spain) clinched the point with a 7-5 win at No. 2 doubles
 
Koschtojan earned a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles to earn NIU its second point.
 
Norlin won in two sets at No. 6 singles 6-4, 6-3 to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead.
 
The Huskies close the regular season tied with Toledo for second place at 7-3 in MAC play
 
The Huskies will take on tournament hosts Toledo in the MAC Tournament semi finals on Saturday, April 20 and if they advance will play the winner of WMU and Ball State on Sunday, April 21.
 
Singles Competition

1. Anton Arzhankin (WMU) def. Cheng En Tsai (NIU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-2
2. Benjamin George (WMU) def. Mikael Vollbach (NIU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Ashton Adesoro (WMU) def. Iker Gaztambide Arrastia (NIU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
4. Jackson Boone (WMU) def.  Saul Berdullas (NIU)4-6, 6-2, 6-1
5.  Armin Koschtojan (NIU) def. Matej Kajzer (WMU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Christopher Norlin (NIU) def. Adrian Quiros (WMU) 6-4, 6-3\

Doubles competition
1. Anton Arzhankin/Jackson Boone (WMU) def. Cheng En Tsai/Mikael Vollbach (NIU) 6-3
2. Saul Berdullas/Armin Koschtojan (NIU) def. Benjamin George/Drew Evans (WMU)  7-5    3. Christopher Norlin/Iker Gaztambide (NIU-M) def. Sajin Smith/Eli Herran (WMU) 6-3
 
Order of Finish
Singles (6, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2)
Doubles (2, 3, 1)
 
-- NIU --