Men’s tennis looks to clinch playoff spot

Sophomore Georg Lundkvist serves during his match against Eastern Illinois University’s Rui Silva on Jan. 30 at the Chick Evans Fieldhouse. Lundkvist would defeat Silva in both sets by scores of 6-2 and 6-1.

By Patrick Smith

Men’s tennis (15-7, 3-2 MAC) will have an opportunity to defeat the University at Buffalo (9-6, 2-2 MAC) Sunday as it looks to clinch a playoff spot for the 2016 postseason.

“We definitely needed it,” said head coach Patrick Fisher after the Huskies’ win over the University of Toledo on Sunday. “A loss would have put our season in jeopardy. That win kept our playoff hopes intact and we’re striving to be a number two or three seed.”

Sunday’s contest against the Bulls will be the Huskies’ first true home game of the season — they played in a doubleheader against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Detroit Mercy on Jan. 24.

“We should be playing outside – the weather looks good this week,” Fisher said. “We should have an advantage playing on campus in DeKalb and we are also doing a community campus event which starts at 9:45 [a.m.] and is free to people to come out and support.”

The Huskies are currently tied for second in the conference, but Fisher said he knows every game is necessary with the season coming down to the wire.

“If we win we either play for a good seed or we have a do-or-die game against Binghamton [University], which is dangerous,” he said. “I think it’s best to take care of business this week at home to avoid that.”