Men's Tennis | January 23

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team began its season with a 5-2 victory over IU Indy on Friday night. The Huskies will continue its opening weekend with matches against Illinois State and Chicago State on Saturday and Sunday.

"We're really excited about how we came out in doubles," said head coach René Vidal. "Our execution was spot on. The intensity level was high and we were able to get momentum in the match early on. We came out really strong and I'm proud of how we closed the matches."

NIU set the tone early, taking home the doubles point by winning on courts one and three each by score of 6-1 with Iker Gaztambide Arrastia / Nikola Puntaric and Federico Scotuzzi / Lorenzo Leti Messina earning the wins.

Puntaric (Ljubljana, Slovenia/Tulsa) continued his hot start to the day, winning on court two 6-1, 6-1 in under an hour. Shortly after, Gaztambide Arrastia (Pamplona, Spain/Jesuitas) gave NIU a 3-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-3 win. 

The Huskies held a 3-1 lead with three active matches going. Leti Messina (Rome, Italy/North Florida) clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the No. 5 spot.

Scotuzzi (Bergamo, Italy/North Alabama) recorded the final point for NIU with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 come back victory.

"I will give credit to IU Indy. They came out in singles and they competed very hard and we were expecting that," said Vidal. "I'm proud of how our guys were willing to step up and be resilient and close out the match."

Friday night was the first match in a three-day stretch for the Huskies. NIU will host Illinois State at 1 p.m. on Saturday and then travel to Chicago State on Sunday for a 9 a.m. match.

Saturday's match at the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House will be free to attend.

Doubles
Iker Gaztambide Arrastia / Nikola Puntaric vs. Konner Gunwall / Owen Nguyen (IU Indy), 6-1
Chiao Bo Suo Nan / Pratyaksh LNU vs. Cameron Kryscio / Brandon Pham (IU Indy), 3-3 (unfinished)
Federico Scotuzzi / Lorenzo Leti Messina def. Eli Mercer / Pumiphat Sukkho (IU Indy), 6-1

Singles
Iker Gaztambide Arrastia def. Eli Mercer (IU Indy) 6-2, 6-3
Nikola Puntaric  def. Konner Gunwall (IU Indy)  6-1, 6-1
Owen Nguyen (IU Indy) def. Iker Dellien Velasco 7-6, 6-3
Federico Scotuzzi def. Cameron Kryscio (IU Indy) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
Lorenzo Leti Messina def. Pumiphat Sukkho (IU Indy)  6-2, 6-0
Jai Dutta (IU Indy) def. Pratyaksh LNU 7-5, 6-2