NIU men’s tennis (16-6, 6-2 MAC) punched its ticket into the Mid-American Conference tournament with a 6-1 road win over the University of Toledo (7-14, 2-7 MAC) on Saturday.
The Huskies bested a competitive Rockets side in doubles before dominating singles play and completing the season sweep over Toledo.
NIU swept matchups No. 1 through No. 5 with sophomore Nikola Puntaric capturing the winning point at the top court.
“We performed like champions today, from start to finish,” head coach René Vidal said. “Captains Arrastia, Scotuzzi, and Dellien led the way with their leadership, energy and strong play.” “
DOUBLES
Both teams were evenly matched in doubles play; senior Federico Scotuzzi and sophomore Lorenzo Leti Messina struck first with a 6-2 win over senior duo Lucas Britez and Joshua Mackey before graduate student Hanamichi Carvajal and freshman Pannawat Suttisomboon defeated NIU senior Iker Dellien Velasco and sophomore Chiao Bo Suo Nan 6-4.
Senior Iker Gaztambide Arrastia and Puntaric broke the deadlock via tiebreaker 7-6 (7-2) over senior Alejandro Gonzalez and junior Poothong Komolpisut to clinch the doubles point at No. 1.
SINGLES
At No. 5, Suo Nan doubled the NIU advantage after taking down junior Charlie Snow in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. The Huskie rode an early 3-0 lead in the first set and carried his momentum into the following set.
Arrastia secured the third point against Poonthong with a 6-3, 7-5 win. A comfortable first set was met with a close second set. Both players traded games but Arrastia held firm and converted the final two sets.
The top court saw Puntaric deliver the clinching point in similar fashion against Carvajal 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). The Rockets’ player kept up with Punaric’s intensity to force a tiebreaker but the Slovenian did not let up the 5-1 lead. Puntaric avenged his singles loss against Carvajal in NIU’s 5-2 win over Toledo last month.
At No. 4, Scotuzzi handled Britez in straight sets 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 for the fifth point. The Italian rebounded from a 5-2 deficit and pulled away during the tiebreaker 4-4 to take the first set. In the following set, Scotuzzi took four unanswered sets down 4-2 to close out Britez.
Toledo avoided the sweep with junior Cole Cozen’s win against Pratyaksh LNU over three sets, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 while Leti Messina rounded out NIU’s strong display over straight sets at No. 3.
Leading 4-0, Leti Messina survived a late rally attempt by Olivero in the first set to win 6-4 before getting the 7-5 result in the second set for the sixth team point.
With this victory, the Huskies are now unbeaten in the last three meetings versus the Rockets and earn a spot in the MAC tournament for the second time in three seasons.
UP NEXT
The Huskies will now host Western Michigan University at 1 p.m. Thursday at Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House in a race for first place in the MAC.
“We look forward to finishing the MAC regular season strong as we prepare for a different kind of pressure in the tournament,” Vidal said.
