The men’s tennis team had a solid year with 15 wins and eight losses. The season ended in disappointment when NIU was knocked out in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Championship Friday by the University at Buffalo.

1. Poor doubles play was NIU’s downfall

NIU won six of eight early season doubles matches. Starting out on top in the beginning of a match gave the Huskies plenty of confidence allowing them to stay aggressive early on.

In the fall half of the season, the Huskies were 7-4 in doubles matches but suffered a 3-8 record in the spring half. Although the Huskies continued winning and competing for first place in the MAC against Western Michigan, NIU’s doubles play plummeted and its confidence suffered.

Starting from behind every game lowered the Huskies’ confidence level and caused poor play not allowing NIU to maintain an aggressive mentality.

Head Coach Patrick Fisher frequently alluded to doubles play being a problem throughout the season, even after wins.

“We didn’t play good at all, but we won,” Fisher said after a 4-3 win over Ball State University March 31.

2. NIU has no answer against Buffalo

NIU hasn’t found an answer on beating the Bulls in the last three years.

The Huskies have been eliminated in the semifinals in a tight 4-3 loss against Buffalo. The last time NIU claimed victory over Buffalo was in a 5-2 win April 19, 2015.

The Huskies have lost six matches in a row against Buffalo since then, including in the semifinal Friday and April 20 during the regular season.

It appears if the Huskies ever want to find themselves back in MAC championship contention they will have to go through Buffalo to do it. So far, they have not had a solution for that in a while.

3. Kristopher Ortega has become a player to watch

After a hot start to the season, NIU failed to capture its fourth MAC Regular Season Championship under Fisher. The Huskies were knocked out of the tournament once again by Buffalo, which has become the trend in DeKalb in since 2015. The one positive take away from this season was the rise of Kristopher Ortega.

Ortega is a prime candidate for the MAC Freshman of the Yearaward. He finished the season with a 14-7 record, with more than half of the wins coming at the No. 1 slot.

Ortega has proven he is worthy of leading this team after starting the season at the No. 4 and climbing his way to the No. 1 slot when his team needed it the most, after senior Eric Marbach’s back injury.

“He’s been excellent, he’s stepped up in a big way,” Fisher said