Men's Tennis | January 25

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois university men's tennis team took down Eastern Illinois in controlling fashion on Saturday as the Huskies won 6-1.

"There are some areas we work on and we will make sure to address those in practice," head coach René Vidal said. "The guys work ethic is a big reason why we are a mentally tough team during matches."

NIU got off to a quick start in doubles play to seal the first point. Iker Gaztambide Arrastia (Pamplona, Spain) and Federico Scotuzzi (Bergamo, Italy) earned the 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles. Saul Berdullas (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) and Sam Klein (Elm Grove, Wis./Brookfield East) followed that up with a 6-4 to clinch the doubles point.

"The captains (Gaztambide Arrastia and Berdullas) did a really good job of taking care of business in both singles and doubles today," Vidal said."

In singles play Gaztambide Arrastia dominated at No. 2 singles with back to back sweeps, winning his match 6-0, 6-0.

Berdullas won 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 singles to extend the Huskies lead to 3-0.

"We love playing here at the Nelson Tennis Center," Vidal said. "We have been looking forward to this weekend and we knew that we would have to play some solid tennis to get the win today and I think we did that."

Scotuzzi clinched the dual win at No. 4 singles with a come from behind 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Dellien Velasco then pushed the Huskies lead to 5-1 with a 7-6, 5-2 win.

Angus Howard (Bath, England/Texas Permian Basin) closed out the dual with a victory in a very tight match. Howard dropped the first set before rallying and winning the third set tiebreak. Howard took the match 3-6, 6-2, 10-8.

NIU is back in action at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26 as NIU hosts Judson at the Nelson Tennis Center.

-- NIU --
 
 
Tennis Match Results
Eastern Illinois vs Northern Illinois University
Jan 25, 2025 at Nelson Tennis Center
Northern Illinois University 6, Eastern Illinois 1
Singles competition
1. Saul Berdullas (NIU) def. Pieke Bouman (EIU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Iker Gaztambide Arra (NIU) def. Alex Aldaz (EIU) 6-0, 6-0
3. Zach White (EIU) def. Chiao Bu Suo Nan (NIU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Federico Scotuzzi (NIU) def. Ludolph Wiggett (EIU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
5. Iker Dellien Velasco def. Tyler Carlin (EIU)  (NIU) 7-6, 5-2
6. Angus Howard (NIU) def. Duarte Trocado (EIU) 3-6, 6-2, 10-8
 
Doubles competition
1. Iker Gaztambide Arrastia/Federico Scotuzzi (NIU) def. Zach White/Ludolph Wiggett (EIU) 6-3
2. Saul Berdullas/Sam Klein (NIU) def. Pieke Bouman/Alex Aldaz (EIU) 6-4
3. James Theriault/Gustavo Juarez Lopez (NIU) vs. William Hays/Fabian Planchard (EIU) unfinished
 
Match Notes:
Eastern Illinois 0-4
 
Northern Illinois University 2-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,1,3,4,5,6)