Sometimes practice does make perfect.

Maybe not perfect, but after a strong week of practice, the NIU men’s tennis team made an impressive showing at the Western Michigan Invitational over the weekend.

The Huskies defeated Illinois State and DePaul Saturday (no official team scores were kept) before putting up a valiant effort but losing nonetheless against the host Broncos Sunday that featured four three-set matches.

“Those are two good teams we beat,” coach Steven Rodecap said. “It was a good day for us, especially since Illinois State beat us last year.”

The victory over the Blue Demons included junior Raymond van Wasbeek’s 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Jevgenji Carlov, the No. 25 ranked player in the country.

“I didn’t know he was ranked that high before the match,” van Wasbeek said. “He didn’t impress me too much during warmups or during the match. Personally I didn’t play very well, but neither did he, so that’s probably why I won.”

While Rodecap felt his team put up a consistent effort across the board, he came away particularly pleased with the performance of senior Jon Perlman.

Perlman won all three of his singles matches on the weekend, including a 2-0 showing Sunday at No. 4 singles. Perlman filled in Sunday for sophomore Aaron Forsberg, who went 2-0 Saturday, despite suffering a twisted ankle in his second match and being forced to play on one good foot.

“Those were the best two days I’ve seen out of him in a long time,” Rodecap said.

“I felt comfortable out there, hit the ball clean and forgot about the pain,” said Perlman, who’s had four knee surgeries. “My attitude really helped me this weekend. I was screaming, going nuts, pumping my fists. I was pumped up to play.”

Rodecap hopes this weekend’s showing can be a stepping stone for bigger and better things from his team.

The Huskies don’t take the court again until Oct. 26-28 when they will compete in the ITA Midwest Rolex Championships.

“I think this weekend shows our guys the progress we’ve made,” Rodecap said. “The hard work is paying off, and we need to continue to improve, especially in doubles.”