Men's Tennis | April 18
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Northern Illinois men's tennis team is advancing to the Mid-American Conference Championship for the first time since 2019 after a comeback victory over Western Michigan, claiming a 4-3 win. Pratyaksh LNU clinched the match over the Broncos in a three-set battle over Jack Davison at No. 6 singles.
NIU will play host Buffalo on Sunday, April 19 at 12 p.m. CT with a chance to win its first MAC Tournament title.
"We were outplayed for the first two hours of the match, but the guys stayed positive and bounced back," said head coach René Vidal. "Once Prat captured the second set, he was like a runaway freight train. Overall, we're excited as a team but not satisfied. We'll lace them up back tomorrow and see how far we can go."
The Huskies were able to bounce back in singles after dropping the doubles point for the third time this season and second over the Broncos. Saturday marks the first time NIU has defeated Western Michigan twice in a single season. The Broncos entered the match with seven consecutive wins and claimed their 30th regular season MAC Championship last weekend.
Western Michigan took the doubles point with a 6-4 win at No. 1 and a 6-1 win at No. 3. The Broncos answered first in singles, giving Western Michigan an early 2-0 lead with five courts alive.
No. 71
Iker Gaztambide Arrastia defeated 2025 All-MAC select Ashton Adesoro at No. 1 singles, winning 6-4, 6-3. Western Michigan answered again with another singles victory and held a 3-1 lead with the Huskies still fighting on the final three courts.
Nikola Puntaric got the ball rolling for NIU, winning 6-4, 7-5 against Oscar Corwin at No. 2.
Lorenzo Leti Messina tied the match at 3-3 after dropping the first set against Alexander Antonopoulos, storming back to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
All eyes turned to the final court to decide who would reach the MAC Championship. Pratyaksh dropped the first set, but won the tiebreaker in the second to keep the Huskies season alive. The sophomore took the third set in convincing fashion and sent NIU to the title with a 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 win.
"Probably the biggest match for me up until now, considering the level – Division I tennis, MAC Championships," Pratyaksh said. "The atmosphere when Lorenzo's match finished and it was 3-3, everyone was there on my court, everyone on each team is shouting. To be part of that is just out of this world."
The sophomore pointed to belief in himself and belief from the team in achieving the win.
"Considering how much of this season has been up and down for me … I knew it was around the corner," Pratyaksh said. "I believed in myself, coaches and teammates believed in me. Coming out on top when it mattered most, it was a big match for me."
