Men's Tennis | April 17

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team is off to Buffalo, N.Y. this weekend for the Mid-American Conference Tournament, beginning with Western Michigan on Saturday, April 18 at 1 p.m. CT. The Huskies will face the winner of Buffalo and Ball State with a win on Saturday.

NIU closed the regular season winning two of its last three, including a 4-1 win over Ball State on Senior Day on Saturday, April 11. The Huskies finished the season with 17 wins, most by any MAC team this season, and finished third in the conference with a 7-3 record. Buffalo and Western Michigan tied for the regular season title with an 8-2 record.

On top of the team success, NIU has received plenty of individual recognition this season. Senior Iker Gaztambide Arrastia has been ranked as high as No. 63 in the ITA Division I Singes Rankings and NIU has received 10 MAC Player of the Week honors.

"What's led to our positive results is a combination of work ethic, belief, having two of the best players in the MAC in Co-Captain Iker Arrastia and Nikola Puntaric and a team who knows how to meet the moment," said head coach René Vidal. "But the real secret sauce is our heart, which is something nobody can take away from us."

Gaztambide Arrastia, who has been ranked since March 17, is the first NIU player to be ranked by the ITA since 2015 (Doubles, Dor Amir / Axel Lagerlof) and the first to be ranked in singles since at least 2010. The 12 home wins from the Huskies are the most in a single season since 2021 and fourth most since 2010.

This season, NIU has faced two ranked opponents in No. 11 Illinois and No. 21 Wisconsin, four back-to-back matches and one doubleheader. The Huskies schedule has helped prepare to meet the championship moment.

"When you've done all the right things up to this point, this weekend doesn't warrant a unique, motivational message," said Vidal. "We played back-to-back matches earlier this season for a reason, so we are built for this kind of challenge. Our guys love to compete and are focused on maximizing the opportunity."

A win on Saturday would put NIU in the MAC finals for the first time since 2019 and a win on Sunday would be the first MAC Tournament crown for the Huskies.

"The current state of our program is a sharp uptick to the positive, but the ideal future is to create a dynasty by winning championships year after year," said Vidal.

The Opponents
Ball State (10-11, 5-5 MAC) is a youthful group, with six of its 10 players being underclassmen, including five freshmen. The Cardinals have shown the ability to win in close matches, winning four of their five conference matches by score of 4-3.

Buffalo (14-6, 8-2 MAC) enters the tournament riding a four-match winning streak. Theodoros Mitsakos has recorded seven wins at No. 1 singles and alongside Clement Mainguy, the duo has won MAC Doubles Team of the Week five times this season.

Western Michigan (15-9, 8-2 MAC) is led by Ashton Adesoro, who has 15 victories at No. 1 singles and has six straight wins. The Broncos are riding momentum into the tournament, winning their last seven matches since falling to NIU on March 12.

NIU By the Numbers

• 1-1 record vs. Ball State, Buffalo and Western Michigan this season.
  • Ball State: March 14, L, 4-3; April 11, W, 4-1
  • Buffalo: March 19, W, 4-3; April 2, L, 5-2
  • Western Michigan: March 12, W, 4-3; April 9, L, 2-5
• Most singles wins: Iker Gaztambide Arrastia, 19; Nikola Puntaric, 17; Federico Scotuzzi, 13.
• Most doubles wins: Gaztambide Arrastia/Puntaric, 12; Leti Messina/Scotuzzi, 10; Suo Nan/Dellien Velasco, 8.
• Record at No. 1 & No. 2 Singles: 40-7; in MAC: 17-3.
• 18 doubles points won, 15-3 record; 2-4 when losing doubles point (wins came against Buffalo and Western Michigan).
• Doubles Wins in MAC: 7 (5-2).
• 8-0 record when No. 3 and No. 4 singles both win, 16-2 when No. 3 and No. 4 record at least one win.