Men's Tennis | November 4

DeKALB, Ill. - Nikola Puntaric will represent the Mid-American Conference and the Northern Illinois University men's tennis program this weekend at the 2025 ITA Conference Masters Championships. The event will take place at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, Cali., beginning on Thursday, Nov. 6 and running through Sunday, Nov. 9. 

On the singles side, the four semifinalists will qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship in the spring. For doubles, the champion, finalist and third place finisher will qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship. 

Puntaric is scheduled to face South Carolina State's Mikalai Bankou in the Round of 32 on Thursday, Nov. 6. The winner will face Columbia University's Michael Zheng in the afternoon session with a chance to reach the quarterfinals. 

Puntaric earned his bid to the Conference Masters by winning the top flight of the singles MAC Indoor Championships in October. The sophomore is the first NIU player to win the top singles flight at MAC Indoors. 

"It's both an honor and a program first for Nikola to represent NIU and the MAC at the ITA Conference Masters event," said head coach René Vidal. "Nikola is poised to become one of the best singles players in the country."

In the MAC Indoor Championships, Puntaric won the tournament in dramatic fashion - winning the final three rounds in three-set matches. 

Puntaric also finished as the runner-up in doubles at MAC Indoors, alongside teammate Iker Gaztambide Arrastia.