NIU men’s tennis (12-5, 3-1 MAC) welcomed and defeated the University at Buffalo 4-3 (9-5, 3-1 MAC) on Thursday. With the win, the Huskies move intp first place in the Mid-American Conference, sharing the mark with the Bulls and Ball State University.
The Huskies replicated their comeback win against Western Michigan University, dropping the doubles point but taking quick control in singles play.
NIU was able to take four consecutive points with senior Federico Scotuzzi capturing the winning point in dramatic fashion 7-6.
“Today, we didn’t play our best in doubles today, but the guys really showed their resilience,” head coach René Vidal said. “Our message to the team after doubles was we’ve been here before because at Western Michigan. We showed we can bounce back from that setback to get the victory.”
DOUBLES
Doubles play was highlighted by early NIU dominance at No. 2 and 3.
Senior Iker Gatambide Arrastia and sophomore Nikola Puntaric could not close out graduate student Clement Mainguy and senior Theodoris Mitsakos after being up 3-0. The Bulls’ pair clawed back to 6-6 before the match was abandoned.
Senior Iker Dellien Velasco and sophomore Chiao Bo Suo Nan held a 5-2 advantage but Bulls junior duo Michael Malkin and Onder Balci adjusted and grabbed five unanswered, 7-5.
Scotuzzi and sophomore Lorenzo Leti Messina fell 6-3 to junior Minjae Kim and senior Faiz Nasyam, who pulled away at 2-2.
SINGLES
Newly ranked No. 63 Arrastia drew first blood in singles after taking down Mainguy in straight sets, 6-3. Puntaric helped the Huskies regain the lead in his 6-3, 6-3 win over Mitsakos at top court.
Leti Messina also secured a straight set victory versus Balci but with more difficulty. The Italian was able to hold on to a slim lead in the first set 7-5 but Bacli put him in a 5-2 hole in the following set.
Leti Messina delivered, winning the next five games to complete the 7-5 comeback.
At No. 4, Scotuzzi battled Minjae in a three set thriller where the Huskie needed two tiebreakers to secure the 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 win and ending a Bulls’ three game winning streak. Scotuzzi grabbed his third straight win in singles play and fourth winning point for the season.
”This guy (Kim) had a very good serve that was tough to return. He was fighting for every point and I knew it was going to be a big fight in singles,” Scotuzzi said. “It’s my senior year, so I’m trying to give everything I have. It wasn’t easy for me at the start of the season but I’m starting to win more matches and feeling very well.”
The Huskies conceded the final two points to the Bulls. Sophomore Pratyaksh LNU was defeated by senior Emiliano Joquera 6-2 in straight sets at No. 5 while Dellien’s rally against Nasyam fell short in a tiebreaker, 6-1, 4-6, 10-4 at No. 6.
UP NEXT
The Huskies host MAC rivals University of Toledo at 11 a.m. Saturday at Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House.
“It’s huge. They (Buffalo) won the conference so it’s a very big boost of confidence going forward,” Scotuzzi said. “It shows that we can do it this year. We can win.”
