NIU men’s tennis returned to the MAC finals for the second straight year but came away with the same result as it lost an early lead to fall 4-2 to No. 1 seed Western Michigan on Saturday.

The No. 3 seed Huskies took the early advantage with wins at No. 1 and 2 doubles to capture the doubles point. Despite winning the first set in all but one individual match, NIU allowed Western Michigan to come back and clinch the match with four singles wins.

The Huskies finished their season with an 18-6 record under first-year head coach Pontus Hiort.

“It’s a very disappointing loss,” Hiort said. “We fought hard, and the guys did everything I could have asked them to, putting themselves in position to win, and we were unable to get those last points.”

NIU failed to get its first MAC title, but it did manage to defeat rival Ball State for the first time in 30 years with a 4-3 victory in the semifinals. Senior Juan Pablo Barriga won the match with a 6-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory at No. 2 singles over BSU’s Matt Laramore.

“It meant a lot to get back and beat Ball State,” senior Ryan Schnack said. “Even though we lost in the final, it was worth it. We had a really good season, and we went out with a bang.”

NIU junior Willy Gali wrapped up his season with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over Western Michigan’s Ravi Pathanjali in the final. Gali finished with a 27-4 record, giving him the best winning percentage in the MAC and tying him with Pathanjali for most wins in conference.

Freshman Jack Komar finished second on the team with a 26-8 mark at No. 4 singles.

“I really think Willy [Gali] deserves to win MAC player of the year,” Schnack said. “He beat Ravi [Pathanjali] when it counted, so he proved he deserves it.”