Men's Tennis | March 12

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team moved to 2-0 in conference play with a 4-3 win over Western Michigan. A clinch from Iker Gaztambide Arrastia secured the Huskies first win over the Broncos since the 2015 dual season.

With the matched knotted at 3-3, Gaztambide Arrastia (Pamplona, Spain / Jesuitas) closed the door on Western Michigan with a 6-4, 7-5 victory at No. 1 singles over 2025 All-MAC select Ashton Adesoro.

"We showed our unbreakable fighting spirit today; especially after dropping the doubles point," said head coach René Vidal. "A lot of people talk about resilience but we're on a mission to embody what it takes to overcome skeptics and adversity."

The Broncos narrowly claimed the doubles point to give Western Michigan the early advantage with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. Iker Dellien Velasco / Chiao Bo Suo Nan were tied at 5-5 when Western Michigan claimed the point.

Thursday afternoon's match was a battle of momentum with NIU walking away in favor. Lorenzo Leti Messina (Rome, Italy / North Florida) secured the first singles point with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3, followed by Nikola Puntaric (Ljubljana, Slovenia / Tulsa) downing Tim Riedel 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2.

With NIU holding a 2-1 lead, Western Michigan responded by taking the next two courts to reclaim the lead. The Huskies answered with their backs against the wall, winning the final two matches.

Pratyaksh LNU (Delhi, India / Tagore International School) defeated Jackson Davison 6-4, 6-4 at No. 6, paving the way for Gaztambide Arrastia to clinch the match.

"The guys deserve this victory and have 24 hours to celebrate," said Vidal. "The MAC regular season is a long horse race and we have more work to do this Saturday."

NIU now travels to Ball State, taking on the Cardinals Saturday at 12 p.m. CT.