Men's Tennis | March 5

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team faces a pair of road matches this weekend, beginning on Friday, March 6 with a trip to No. 11 Illinois then heading to UIC on Saturday for the first conference match of the season.

"Competing against the No. 11 team in the ITA national rankings is great preparation for Saturday's opening MAC match," said head coach René Vidal. "We believe we can compete and win against anyone in the country. I know our guys are looking forward to the challenge."

NIU is 9-2 through the majority of its non-conference schedule, with the only losses coming from No. 29 Wisconsin and a 4-3 loss to Xavier. Being able to enjoy the small moments has led to the early season success.

"Early in the semester, we shared three traits that make Carlos Alcaraz the best in the world, one of which was 'playing with joy,'" said Vidal. "The theme of having fun in practice and embracing the competitive battle has gone viral throughout the team."

Senior Iker Gaztambide Arrastia (Pamplona, Spain / Jesuitas) and junior Nikola Puntaric ( Ljubljana, Slovenia / Tulsa) have set the tone for the Huskies in singles play to this point. The two are each 8-1 in singles and hold a 7-2 record as teammates in doubles. Sophomore Chiao Bo Suo Nan (Taiwan / Taipei Municipal Jianguo) has put together a solid start to the season, posting a 6-2 singles record.

NIU as a whole has had success in doubles this season, tallying a 22-5 record and securing the doubles point across 10 of 11 matches.

"To be successful in doubles requires a balance of complementary skills and chemistry fit," said Videl. "We're fortunate to have enjoyed success thus far, but we're just beginning to show our full potential. It's a long horse race."

The Opponents
The Illini are first up for NIU, a newly added match the school announced this week. No. 11 Illinois (9-3) is riding a five-match winning streak and have four wins over top 25 ranked teams. Four Illini are ranked in the top 125 in singles.

UIC (6-4) has dropped its last two matches, losing to Northwestern on Saturday, Feb. 28 and Illinois on Sunday, Feb. 22. Artem Alekseychuk is 6-2 in singles this season, including a 5-2 record at No. 1.