Women's Tennis | September 16

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's tennis program announced its 2025–26 schedule. It features four fall events, one January invitational and 25 dual matches during the spring semester.

Head Coach Eric Burns enters his seventh season with NIU coming off a record-setting season.

In 2024-25, the Huskies posted a 22-9 record, setting a school record for dual match wins in a season, won the Mid-American Conference West Division for the first time and made a postseason appearance in the UTR Sports National Invitational Tennis Championship (NIT Championship).

"Coming off a successful season last year, I thought it was important to continue to challenge the team to see where we can go," Burns said. "We believe this schedule gives us a great chance to be ready and at our best for MAC play and to continue improving our program."

Seven players return for Burns from last season with three incoming freshmen. Last spring, senior Nataly Ninova set a single-season school record in singles victories with 32 and ranks fifth in all-time singles wins with 73. Sophomore Lucia Yecora posted 27 singles victories last season, tied for third-most in school history.

The 2025-26 season kicks off this fall with the Hoosier Classic hosted by Indiana University and the MAC Fall Individual Tennis Championship hosted by Western Michigan – both being hosted from Oct. 3-5. The ITA Midwest Regionals hosted by Illinois from Oct. 16-20 will be the final road trip for the Huskies this fall.

NIU closes out the fall schedule by hosting the NIU Huskie Indoor Invitational from Oct. 31 – Nov. 2. The field includes Chicago State, IU Indy, Marquette and UIC.

The spring semester begins with the Northwestern Invitational from Jan. 9-11 where NIU will face Northwestern, DePaul, and Colorado.

"The dual match schedule, in the spring, is the toughest we have faced in my time at NIU," said Burns. "To have the opportunity to host three power four (conference) schools on our home court is not an opportunity many programs like us get. In addition, we are playing some new opponents and some of the top teams in the region this season."

Dual matches begin Friday, Jan. 16, as the Huskies host Wisconsin, which finished the regular season ranked No. 23 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Missouri, also nationally ranked last season, comes to DeKalb the following day and is the first of a doubleheader as the Huskies take on Chicago State in the evening session on Saturday, Jan. 17.

NIU's next four matches include three home duals against Marquette (Jan. 23), Butler (Jan. 30) and Minnesota (Jan. 31) with the lone road match against Valparaiso on Saturday, Jan. 24. Minnesota earned a national ranking in 2025 and travels to DeKalb for an evening match on Saturday, Jan. 31.

February is lined with non-conference matches and see the Huskies traveling to Northern Iowa for a doubleheader against the hosting Panthers and North Dakota on Saturday, Feb. 6.

Following the duals in Iowa, NIU sees its next three matches inside the Nelson Tennis Center as the Huskies host has Milwaukee and Judson University on Sunday, Feb. 8 in a doubleheader and St. Louis the following Sunday.

The Huskies head back on the road for meets against Bradley on Friday, Feb. 28, Kansas City at Bradley on the 29th and Western Illinois on Sunday, March 1.

The non-conference schedule caps with a doubleheader against 2025 Missouri Valley champion UIC and UW-Whitewater on Saturday, March 7 at home.

MAC play starts on the road at Eastern Michigan on Friday, March 13 and runs through Friday, April 17 when NIU closes the season with a home match against Ball State. The Huskies take on 2025 MAC East Division Champs Miami (April 3) and Toledo (March 15) on the road. Bowling Green (April 12), Buffalo (March 20) and Western Michigan (March 22) will travel to NIU for home conference matches.

"We are really excited about this schedule and the challenges it presents. We play 15 of our 25 dual matches at home this season, so there will be lots of opportunities for our fans to get out and check out some matches at Nelson Tennis Center," Burns said.

The MAC Championships will be hosted by Miami in Oxford, Ohio April 24-25.