DeKALB — After two weekend conference shutout losses, the women’s tennis team failed to score in a Mid-American Conference match for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

The Huskies fell 0-7 to the University of Akron Friday. The last time NIU was shutout in an away conference match was March 22, 2013 when the Huskies again fell 0-7 to the Akron Zips.

NIU was blanked by University of Buffalo Sunday 0-7, the first time the Huskies were shutout as hosts of a conference match since the 2015-16 campaign.

 

v. Akron

In double’s play the Huskies continued their season-long struggle. NIU scored multiple points in just one match while being held to one point in the other two. NIU is now 2-12 when losing the doubles point.

NIU went on to drop all six singles matches. Junior Jovana Peric was forced out due to injury during the second set of her match. Peric faced redshirt-senior Sophia Geier, losing the first set 0-6 and the second 0-1.

First-years Paula Veyhle and Julia Dmitrieva both put up strong performances in singles action for NIU, but fell in hard-fought battles.

Related: Huskies drop two MAC matches to fall to 0-4 in conference play

Veyhle faced sophomore Anna Uljanov, losing 6-7 and 1-6. Dmitrieva fell to first-year Ceci Rosas 5-7 and 2-6.

Junior Brodie Walker faced sophomore Miruna Vasilescu and lost 2-6, 4-6. First-year Fernanda Naves battled hard but ultimately fell 1-6 and 4-6 to junior Rita Pedroso.

Sophomore Lara Slisko fell 0-6 and 2-6 to senior Luisa Echeverry.

 

v. Buffalo

Although the Huskies were able to put up one victory in doubles play, Buffalo took the doubles point, leading the way to their shutout over NIU.

Slisko and Veyhle teamed up for a 4-3 victory over senior Arianna Paules Aldrey and first-year Pia Schwarz.

For Buffalo, senior Chantal Martinez Blanco and first year Nikoleta Antoniou-Karademitriou got their victory against Walker and Fernandez, while junior Emel Abibula and first-year Hsin-Yuan Shih defeated junior Mary Ellen Green and Dmitrieva.

Singles action saw a slightly different lineup from Friday’s play.

Walker and Dmitrieva put up strong performances for NIU. Dmitrieva put up a hard fight, but her efforts were not enough, as she fell to Abibula 6-2, 6-4.

Walker faced Martinez Blanco, but lost 6-3, 6-2. Veyhle lost 6-1, 6-2 to Antoniou-Karademitriou.

Naves was defeated by Schwarz 6-2, 6-1. Slisko managed to put up only one point in a 0-6, 1-6 loss to Shih.

Green was shutout 0-6, 0-6 in her loss to senior Sanjana Sudhir.

Friday’s loss to Akron and Sunday’s loss to Buffalo marks the fourth and fifth time the Huskies have been shutout this season. The five shutouts this year are the highest in a season since 2010-11 when the team had 11.

The Huskies will be back on the court 11 p.m. Sunday in DeKalb when they host Ball State University for their final regular season match. NIU is 1-4 in regular season finale matches in the last five years including a 0-3 home record.