Men’s tennis’ Louis-Philippe Hamel has proven to be one of the Huskies’ most consistent players in his freshman season.Hailing from Drummondville, Quebec, Hamels came to the United States to play college tennis at NIU.“I heard about this school...
NIU men’s tennis will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. Friday to open up its MAC play against Western Michigan (11-7, 1-0 MAC).
Western Michigan won the MAC Tournament from 2006 to 2010, but lost in the semifinals last season to eventual champion Ball State. NIU coach Patrick Fisher is familiar with Western Michigan’s success and knows first-hand how tough the Broncos are; he’s never beaten them in his tenure at NIU.
“Everyone in their lineup is a threat,” Fisher said. “They’ve won the league and gone to the tournament, I would say, seven or eight times out of the last 10. They are the team to beat. They are the class of the league. I think in a lot of ways they’ve been like the Akron of men’s soccer; no one really can beat them on a regular basis.”
The Huskies (14-5) have not matched the Broncos’ success over the past few seasons, but have steadily improved in each campaign.
This season has gone exceptionally well for NIU, already accumulating its most team wins since its 16-win 2002-03 showing with nine matches still scheduled.
The Huskies have made it clear they are ready to be the new breed of the MAC, and with a lineup capable of putting up 14 wins without two-time All-MAC performer Maksym Bartiuk, the once-tested depth of the lineup seems to no longer be a problem.
“We’ve had to deal with an unhealthy lineup this whole year,” Fisher said. “Regardless of where we are at, we still feel we have a good chance to win. We’ve won a lot already without having guys in the lineup at certain times this year.”
Fisher said his current roster has what it takes to avenge last season’s 6-1 loss to the Broncos.
“We’re really excited,” Fisher said. “We’re probably in the best shape going into the conference play in the last four or five years. Obviously, we’ve won a lot and our guys have some great confidence right now. Except for a couple matches, we’ve been in position to win every single match and I don’t see that changing this week.”
NIU men’s tennis suffered a loss in the semifinals of the MAC Championships to Western Michigan to end its regular season. The 4-3 loss came in crushing fashion for the Huskies, who finished the season 21-7. After initially losing the doubles point,...
NIU men’s tennis will travel to Toledo, Ohio for the MAC Championships. Entering the tournament as the second seed, NIU will not play until the second day of action, Friday, in the semifinals. After earning a share of the MAC regular season title after...
NIU men’s tennis’ Maksym Bartiuk was named the MAC Player of the Week after winning both of his singles and doubles matches against Ball State and Marquette. Recovering from a shoulder injury that kept the junior out of the first singles spot, Bartiuk’s...
NIU men’s and women’s tennis will both go up against non-conference foes this weekend. For the men, the two home matches begin Saturday against St. Louis (5-10) and finish Sunday against Bradley (7-10). The Huskies (15-5, 1-0 MAC) easily handled St....
NIU men’s tennis achieved what hadn’t been done in over 15 years when it beat Western Michigan Friday. The 5-2 victory extended a season-high five match winning streak for the Huskies (15-5, 1-0 MAC). “It was a big win for us,” said NIU coach...
After his 4-0 record versus Valparaiso and IUPUI, NIU’s Axel Lagerlof was named MAC Men’s Tennis Player of the week, according to a press release.Lagerlof‘s four victories came in No. 1 singles and doubles play against Valpo’ and IUPUI.The Malmo,...
Maksym Bartiuk has accomplished quite a bit in his first two years as a Huskie. After last season's impressive 13-6 record at one singles, he earned a 17-9 record this season while being named to his second-straight All-MAC First Team, and is the Northern...
DeKALB | NIU’s men’s tennis program has been on the rise over the past few years. Leading the way for NIU over the last two seasons is sophomore Maksym Bartiuk. After the Ukraine native finished his freshman year with a 13-6 record at first singles,...
With regular season competition coming to a close, both NIU men's and women's tennis teams hope to end on a high note.The Huskies (11-14 overall, 1-3 MAC) have matched their highest win total since 2008.With one match left in the regular season, men's...
NIU men's tennis traveled to Indiana for three matches over the weekend. After losing its opening match to conference opponent Ball State (9-8 overall, 1-1 MAC) 7-0, NIU (11-12, 1-2) bounced back to win its next two matches. The Huskies outlasted IUPUI...
