Extending its winning streak to five matches, four of which being in conference play, NIU men’s tennis (16-3, 5-1 MAC) defeated the University of Illinois Chicago (9-8, 1-5 MAC) in a 6-1 victory. 

The Huskies swept doubles matches to earn the double’s point, before going on to win five singles matches. 

Senior duo Mikael Vollbach and Cheng En Tsai bested senior Gustavo Schwebel and freshman Mihailo Savic in a dominant 6-1 win. Freshman Saul Berdullas and senior Armin Koschtojan won their match against Chicago senior Aleksa Bucan and sophomore Robinson Le Meur by a score of 6-3. Sophomores Iker Gaztambide Arrastia and Christopher Norlin won a close match against Savic and senior Artem Iermolov in a 5-4 match. 

The Huskies continued their success in singles matches, with only one loss on the day. 

Tsai controlled his match against Bucan from the beginning, earning a 6-3, 6-1 win. Also in 6-3, 6-1 sets, Gaztambide Arrastia won the match against Schwebel. 

Berdullas was dominant in a 6-1 first set against senior Edoardo Bottino, before winning the second set in a 7-6 (7-3) tiebreaker. Koschtojan saw a 6-2, 7-2 (7-2) victory against Savic. In another commanding win for the Huskies, Norlin defeated Iermolov in 6-3, 6-1 sets. 

In the only loss for NIU, Vollbach was bested by Le Meur in 6-4, 6-3 sets.

The Huskies played their first outdoor match of the year, playing at Sycamore High School. NIU men’s tennis head coach René Vidal reflected on the change in conditions. 

“The guys did a great job taking advantage of the windy conditions,” said Vidal. “We look forward to next week’s trip to Buffalo and Toledo.”

NIU men’s tennis will play at noon CT Friday in Buffalo, New York, at the Miller Tennis Center when they face the University of Buffalo.