Men's Tennis | May 12

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team had three student-athletes selected to the CSC Academic All-District team in Lorenzo Leti Messina, Pratyaksh LNU and Nikola Puntaric, the organization announced today. Selected by College Sports Communicators, the Academic All-District team highlights student-athletes that have displayed top performances athletically and academically.

To qualify, student-athletes must have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA, compete in 75 percent of competitions and be a sophomore academically and athletically. First-year transfer students must have a combined 3.50 cumulative at current and former institutions.

Leti Messina made his first Academic All-District team after combining for 26 wins this spring. A business administration major, the sophomore has a combined cumulative GPA of 3.567, including a 3.80 at NIU. Leti Messina recorded two singles wins against Western Michigan, helping the Huskies to down WMU in both the regular and postseason.

Pratyaksh helped propel NIU to its first MAC Championship appearance since 2019 with a comeback 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 singles victory over Western Michigan in the semifinals. The sophomore qualified in his first year of eligibility with a 4.00 GPA in industrial and system engineering.

Puntaric was a standout on the court in the classroom as a sophomore, earning First Team All-MAC honors after a 32-win spring and holding a combined GPA of 3.968 as a finance major. Puntaric totaled 46 wins in the 2025-26 season and was the Singles Back Draw Co-Champion at the Conference Masters in the fall.

The trio played a vital role in an 18-win season that ended as the MAC Tournament Runner-up. The 2025-26 Huskies recorded the third most wins in a single season since 1995, received 10 conference player of the week honors and had multiple All-MAC selections.