As the schedule winds down to its final stretch, NIU men’s tennis coach Chuck Merzbacher is focusing his crew to secure the first seed in the Mid-Continent Conference Championships to be held April 24-25 at the West Campus Courts.

The 8-13 Huskies have only three matches left including a 3 p.m. match at Marquette University today.

“Marquette is very talented,” Merzbacher said. “We’re looking

at this match as a springboard to our three conference matches this weekend.”

The keys to the Huskies’ success are the performances of their No. 4 and No. 5 players Matt Green and Andy Schoberlein.

“Green (who lost in straight-sets during NIU’s 5-2 win over Illinois State last Tuesday) is just starting to get his confidence back,” Merzbacher said.

“Andy just needs to move his feet,” Merzbacher added. “He has all the abilities in the world, it’s just like a basketball player keeping his arms up on defense. When you get tired you don’t do it. Andy needs to keep reminding himself.”