NIU men’s tennis (16-7, 6-3 MAC) fell 5-2 to Western Michigan University (14-9, 7-2 MAC) at home on Thursday, dropping to third in the Mid-American Conference behind the Broncos and University at Buffalo.
Both sides previously qualified for the MAC tournament but are in pursuit of the first seed.
Despite NIU capturing the doubles point, their momentum halted in singles play as WMU took five of six matchups.
DOUBLES
The Huskies made some notable changes at No. 1, opting to go with its seniors Iker Gaztambide Arrastia and Federico Scotuzzi.
The senior duo triumphed over graduate student Tim Riedel and junior Drew Evans 6-3 but WMU’s sophomore Jack Davison and junior Ashton Adesoro replied with a 6-3 match versus senior Iker Dellien Velasco and sophomore Chiao Bo Suo Nan at No. 3.
Sophomore pair Nikola Puntaric and Lorenzo Leti Messina took down sophomore pair Oscar Corwin and Alex Antonopoulos in a 7-5 win to clinch the doubles point.
SINGLES
Arrastia, who is ranked No. 63 in the nation, doubled the NIU advantage at No. 2 and cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Antonopoulos, extending his winning streak to seven matches.
Riedel was the first on the board for the Broncos, taking down Suo Nan 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5. WMU took command from there, taking the next four points with straight set victories.
The tying point came at No. 4 as freshman Chen-Hui Ho bested Scotuzzi 6-3, 6-4 before Davison’s 6-2, 6-3 result over Dellien helped WMU take the lead.
At No. 3, Corwin delivered the winning point with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Leti Messina as NIU struggled to stop the bleeding.
Puntaric battled Adesoro in a three game thriller; the Slovenian went down in the first set 6-2 but struck back 7-6 (7-3) in the second set after trailing 4-1. However, Puntaric’s comeback attempt came up just short, falling 10-7 in a tiebreaker.
UP NEXT
The Huskies host Ball State University in the regular season finale at 11 a.m. Saturday at Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House.
