NIU tennis team battles Warriors

By Hyun Moon

The Huskies’ men’s tennis squad will be looking to tear apart the Marquette Warriors today in a 3 p.m. home match.

NIU barely beat the Warriors 8-1 in Marquette last year.

How does a team barely win 8-1? The Warriors forced the Huskies into seven 3-set matches.

“(Marquette) is as good as we are on any given day,” NIU coach Chuck Merzbacher said. “I’m glad this meet is at home.”

In the latest regional rankings, NIU dropped from the 13th spot to No. 14.

Western Michigan’s upset over Illinois caused the Huskies to drop one spot.

“It’s unfortunate,” Merzbacher said. “But as long as we’re in the Top-15, it doesn’t make that much difference.”

NIU’s No. 1 doubles team of Greg O’Neil and Erik Andersch cracked the regional Top-15 in doubles.

“We’re all moving well,” he said. “All the extra running and jumping rope is paying dividends for us.”