Men's Tennis | April 8

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team will complete its regular season this weekend with matches vs. Western Michigan on Thursday and Ball State on Saturday. This weekend's matches will be played at the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House or at Rochelle High School based on weather conditions.

NIU (16-6, 6-2 MAC) clinched a bid in the Mid-American Conference Tournament following Saturday's 6-1 win over Toledo, the team's second appearance in the last three seasons. The Huskies are 11-2 at home this season, tied for the fourth most home wins in a single season since 2005.

Nikola Puntaric (Ljubljana, Slovenia / Tulsa) won his second MAC Singles Player of the Week after a 2-0 weekend at No. 1 singles. Doubles play has set the tone for NIU this season, claiming the doubles point in 16 matches this season with a 14-2 record.

Saturday's match against Ball State with be Senior Day for the Huskies, recognizing captains Iker Gaztambide Arrastia, Federico Scotuzzi and Iker Dellien Velasco. NIU split matches against Western Michigan and Ball State last month.

Buffalo, NIU and Western Michigan have each punched their tickets to the conference tournament. Ball State (4-4 MAC) is just ahead of Toledo (2-7 MAC) in the standings.

The Opponents
Western Michigan (13-9, 6-2 MAC) has won its last five matches since falling to the Huskies. The two are tied for second in the MAC, just behind Buffalo (7-2 MAC). Ashton Adesoro and Chen-Hui Ho each have 14 singles wins this season. NIU secured its first win over Western Michigan since 2015 with a 4-3 on March 12.

Ball State (9-10) has dropped its last two matches to Buffalo and Western Michigan and travels to UIC on Thursday. The Cardinals defeated the Huskies, 4-3, in the first meeting last month.