After the first outdoor meets of the season last week, the NIU men’s tennis team went 2-1 against Citadel and East Carolina University but fell to the College of Charleston.

On Monday, the Huskies defeated Citadel for their first outdoor win of the season. Strong play came from the bottom half of the line-up, as No. 4 Aaron Forsberg, No. 5 Jon Perlman and No. 6 Tim Freesen all won their matches to give NIU the victory.

Coach Steve Rodecap was pleased with his team’s strong outdoor play.

“It was a little tough going outside for the first time,” he said. “We adjusted well after a while, and hopefully, by the end of the week, we will be close to 100 percent acclimated to the change.”

On Wednesday, the Huskies won their fourth-straight victory and seven of their last eight games by defeating the East Carolina Pirates 4-3.

East Carolina took a 3-1 lead after the first three singles matches, but the Huskies battled back to claim the final three singles matches and a notch in the win column.

The Huskies took the valuable doubles point, as all three Huskie combos won their matches. The pairings of Raymond van Wasbeek and Forsberg, Juan Pablo Barriga and Freesen and Brent Sitarski and Perlman all were victorious for NIU.

Both van Wasbeek and Barriga won their singles matches, and Perlman won his second-straight singles match to seal a win for the Huskies.

In the final meet of the week, the Huskies faced a tough College of Charleston squad. The Cougars proved to be too tough for the Huskies, as they claimed victory by a narrow 4-3 margin.

Charleston swept the doubles matches and the first two singles matches to gain an early and pivotal three points. The Huskies fought to take the next three singles matches before losing the deciding seventh match and the meet.

“We probably didn’t deserve to win this match in the end,” Rodecap said. “Our energy level has not been good of late in doubles, and that has carried over to our early sets in singles action.”

The trip to South Carolina gives the Huskies a 9-6 record. They will resume Mid-American Conference play this Sunday when they take on Ball State University at Muncie, Ind.