DeKALB – The NIU men’s tennis team was defeated in a close battle 4-3 Friday afternoon against the University of Toledo Rockets. 

SINGLES

The Rockets put the first singles points on the board when junior Pawit Sornlaksup defeated NIU junior Cheng En Tsai 6-2, 6-4. 

Following the singles win, Toledo became victorious again in a heated battle between Toledo senior Krzysztof Wetoszka and NIU senior Oliver Valentinsson. Wetoszka won the first set 7-5. Valentinsson won the second set in dominant fashion 6-3, but came up short in the last set by a score of 6-3. 

“We will need to fix this by Sunday against Ball State,” NIU men’s tennis head coach Patrick Fisher said via NIU athletics. “No time to beat ourselves up over what happened today, we have to flip the page and keep going forward. I believe our guys will respond, these guys have character.”

DOUBLES

Huskies held their own in doubles competition as junior Mikael Vollbach and En Tsai defeated Sornlaksup and Wetoszka in the first doubles match 7-5. The Huskies won another double competition when freshmen Iker Gaztambide Arrastia and Christopher Norlin defeated freshman Matias Olivero and senior Luis Kleinschnitz, 6-2.

“Another close one that went all the way to the end today, unfortunately it didn’t go our way,” Fisher said. “Holding our serve really held us back and that would be the telling stat for us today as to why it didn’t go our way.” 

NIU’s overall record is 12-8 with a 4-4 record in the MAC. Toledo’s record is 13-5 and is 5-2 in the MAC. 

UP NEXT

The Huskies return to play at 1 p.m. Sunday as they host the Ball State Cardinals at home.