Getting its spring season rolling this weekend, the NIU men’s tennis team travels to Dayton and Butler.

NIU head coach Patrick Fisher will be looking to improve on the 10-13 mark the Huskies earned in his first year as head coach. NIU returns the 2010 MAC Freshman of the Year with Maksym Bartiuk. The Ukraine native went 13-6 overall and 3-1 in the MAC in his award-winning season.

Fisher knows opposing teams will now be keying on the sophomore after a breakout season in 2010.

“He’s not a secret anymore,” said Fisher. “He’s definitely known. There’s no doubt that coming into the season he’s probably the best player in the league considering he lost once last year in conference play.”

With out-of-conference matches at nationally ranked Northwestern and Wisconsin, the Huskies face a tough road ahead.

If NIU is to compete for a MAC Championship in 2011, it will have to do without the services of its number two singles player. Mikhail Titov had surgery to repair a torn labrum in November and will subsequently redshirt this spring to rehab the injury.

For the second time in as many years, Fisher’s recruiting class has a European feel. Freshmen Axel Lagerlof (Sweden) and Maksym Lagutin (Ukraine) both were recruited from out of the country.

Lagerlof joined the Huskies after winter break, while Lagutin participated during NIU’s fall schedule.

The two freshmen join fellow foreign-born Huskies Maximilian Phillips (England), Roman Turtygin (Russia), and Titov (Russia).

The Huskies take on Dayton at 2 p.m. on Saturday.