Despite the back injuries, the pulled muscles and the overall dreariness of a two-day tournament, the NIU men’s tennis team managed a 5-1 dual meet victory over Eastern Illinois Saturday in Normal, Ill.

“We didn’t play our best, but we won,” said Carl Neufeld, head men’s tennis coach. “We weren’t too enthusiastic about the game after the long tournament. Eastern Illinois was rested up and they beat us one match.”

The NIU netters usually play EIU sometime during the scheduled year. Since both teams were participating in the Illinois Intercollegiate Tennis Championships Friday and Saturday, Neufeld decided to play an unscheduled match with the Panthers immediately after the tourney.

By 9:30 p.m. Friday the air was cooling and the men had played seven or eight hours of tennis. Injuries began to occur as players started to complain about muscle pulls.

The players finished the tournament with No. 1 singles player Steve Wiere qualifying for semifinals, and No. 6 Tim Halligan and No. 7 Mike Hill advancing to the quarterfinals.

“These tournaments toughen the players up and prepare them for the upcoming week,” Neufeld said. “Hopefully it will prepare us instead of beating us into the ground.”

The preparation part looked doubtful when Wiere was forced to withdraw from the semis after an attempt to stretch for a long backhand stroke re-pulled a muscle in the rear of his leg.

Hill was also forced to withdraw from the tournament when he pulled a muscle in his lower back. Both Wiere and Hill were unable to compete in the EIU dual match. Emil Bijleveld, the No. 3 singles player, is still out with an injured knee.

“Tennis is a mental and psychological game. You have to be able to win matches in different situations,” Neufeld said. “The injuries scare me. There’s no rhyme or reason as to why or how long they will stay.”

Erik Andersch started in place of Wiere at No. 1 against EIU and defeated Jon Anderson 6-1, 6-3. Gary Hattendorf was victorious at the No. 3 position in a 7-6, 5-7, 6-2 decision over John Fields.

Randy Panagopoulos defeated Robin Gill 6-1, 6-0 for the No. 4 spot. Jeff Long won the No. 5 match 10-6 against Dean Fitzpatrick. Andersch-Panagopoulos teamed up to win the No. 2 doubles match against Gill-Fitzpatrick 6-3, 6-2.

“I, as well as the players, take pride in the dual meets more than the tournaments,” Neufeld said. “The dual meets are more of an individual success.”

The Huskies had a light practice Monday to allow recovery time from the long weekend. They will begin preparing for their next two dual matches at Wisconsin-Madison Saturday and at Illinois State Oct. 6.

“Our doubles teams are our question mark right now,” Neufeld said. “The next two matches will be the most difficult for doubles.”