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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

NIU sophomore Nataly Ninova prepares for a strike against Eastern Illinois University on March 9. Ninova and her doubles partner, junior Erika Dimitriev, earned MAC Doubles Team of the Week honors, along with NIU seniors Mikael Vollbach and Cheng En Tsai. (Northern Star File Photo)

Tennis Sweeps MAC Doubles Team of the Week

By Kalin Schaefer, Sports Editor | March 28, 2024

NIU swept the Mid-American Conference Doubles Team of the Week honors, with a team from both NIU men’s (15-3, 4-1 MAC) and women’s tennis (12-7, 1-2 MAC) being awarded the honor.  Senior duo Cheng En Tsai and Mikael Vollbach were named the MAC...

Freshman Saul Berdullas throws up a serve against Omaha on March 2. Berdullas was the lone Huskie to win a singles match in a  5-2 loss to Western Michigan University. (Norther Star File Photo)

Men’s tennis falls to Western Michigan, ends winning streak at 9

March 11, 2024

Losing to Western Michigan University (10-3, 2-0 MAC), NIU men’s tennis’ (11-3, 1-1 MAC) winning streak has ended at nine matches.  The Huskies won two matches to clinch the doubles point, before losing all but one of the singles matches.  Seniors...

Freshman Sam Klein (left) and sophomore Iker Gaztambide Arrastia (right) reach for a handshake at the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House. Gaztambide Arrastia won his doubles match with sophomore Christopher Norlin as NIU defeated Ball State University 5-2. (Scott Walstrom | NIU Athletics)

Men’s tennis wins 9th straight with win over Ball State

By Kalin Schaefer, Sports Editor | March 9, 2024

Adding another win to the now nine match win streak, NIU men’s tennis (11-2, 1-0 MAC) defeated Ball State University (6-6, 0-1 MAC) 5-2, earning its first conference win. The Huskies won two of the three matches to clinch the doubles point, dropping...

NIU senior Mikael Vollbach gets set to receive the serve during singles. Vollbach scored the Huskies’ second point in a tight match that went to a second set tiebreaker as he defeated University of Nebraska Omaha sophomore Ryoma Mishiro with scores of 6-4, 7-6 and 7-5. (Tim Dodge | Northern Star)

Vollbach earns MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honors

By Kalin Schaefer, Sports Editor | March 7, 2024

NIU men’s tennis senior Mikael Vollbach was named the MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week, the conference announced Wednesday.  MAC faculty athletics representatives consider athletic performance from the previous week and grade-point average when selecting...

Then-junior Mikael Vollbach stands ready to receive a serve during men's tennis' match against the University of Illinois Chicago on Feb. 22, 2023. Vollbach won all three of his matches Saturday, including his doubles match with senior Cheng En Tsai and the dual-clinching singles match against University of Nebraska Omaha. (Courtesy of NIU Athletics)

Men’s tennis take two decisive victories

By Kalin Schaefer, Sports Editor | March 3, 2024

Improving to 10-2 on the season, NIU men’s tennis defeated both Southern University (0-9) and the University of Nebraska Omaha (10-6) on Saturday.  Defeating Southern 7-0 with two doubles and four singles matches being played, only five Huskies...

NIU men's tennis head coach René Vidal looks off into the distance. Vidal was announced as the next NIU men's tennis head coach Tuesday. (Courtesy of René Vidal)

René Vidal announced as next NIU men’s tennis head coach

By Ethan Gonzales, Former Sports Editor | February 8, 2024

DeKALB – Former McKendree University men’s and women’s tennis head coach René Vidal was named NIU men’s tennis head coach Wednesday, NIU Athletics announced. Vidal served as McKendree’s head tennis coach from 2020 to 2024. In 2022, Vidal...

NIU senior Mikael Vollbach (left) serves to University of North Dakota players as senior Cheng En Tsai ducks behind the net to prepare for the return. Tsai and Vollbach locked in with the other Huskie doubles, giving up only 2 games. (Totus Tuus Keely | Northern Star)

Men’s tennis dominates North Dakota, earn third win

By Sana Polizzi, Sports Reporter | January 27, 2024

Following a 6-1 defeat on the road against the Drake University Bulldogs, the NIU men's tennis team returned home to crush the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks in a 6-1 win. NIU was undefeated in doubles and only had one loss in singles.  NIU...

Arrastia shines at MAC Indoor Championships

By Lucas Didier, Former Sports Editor | November 8, 2023

Sophomore Iker Gaztambide Arrastia led a strong showing for NIU men’s tennis at the 2023 MAC Indoor Championships, taking first place in both flight three singles and flight two doubles. Arrastia won every set he faced the entire weekend. In singles,...

Then-junior Mikael Vollbach stands ready to receive a serve during men's tennis' match against the University of Illinois Chicago on Feb. 22. Vollbach and senior Cheng En Tsai won two doubles matches before falling in the Round of 16 at the ITA Regional this weekend. (Courtesy of NIU Athletics)

Norlin earns four wins at ITA Regional

By Lucas Didier, Former Sports Editor | October 24, 2023

DeKALB – NIU sophomore Christopher Norlin took the spotlight in a solid showing from NIU men’s tennis at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships this past weekend in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Norlin won all three of his qualifying matches to earn a place...

This Week in Huskie Sports: Jan. 23, 2023

This Week in Huskie Sports: Jan. 23, 2023

By Northern Star Sports Staff | January 23, 2023

Six NIU sports teams will be tested on the home front this week as NIU settles in for its second week of classes. All competitions on NIU's slate will be played within Illinois state boundaries. Men's and women's basketball will each host a pair Mid-American...

Men’s tennis splits weekend matches

By Patrick Smith | March 5, 2017

Men’s tennis split their matches this weekend winning one at home and one on the road.

The Huskies started off the weekend with a victory over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Friday at the Boylan Tennis Center in Rockford.

The Huskies (6-2) knocked off the Cougars (3-2) by a score of 6-1. NIU won all three doubles matches, and only lost one singles match.

Senior Axel Lagerlof and junior Dor Amir continued to be perfect in doubles with a 6-2 win over Stephen Washuta and Nico Kuehn of SIUE. Sophomore Simon Formont and junior Frederic Cadieux also scored a win in doubles, knocking off Nicolas Vincent and Jacob Tanulanond 6-2.

The only loss suffered by the Huskies in singles was dealt by the Cougars’ Tanulanond. Tanulanond defeated freshman Carlos Manzanas, 6-4 and 6-3. In his first match since Jan. 17, freshman Matt Lynch knocked off SIUE’s Patrick Gaffigan, 6-3, 0-6 and 6-4, to earn his first win of the season. Lynch had to earn his win, being the only one to go for three matches.

Head coach Patrick Fisher thought his team did well, but also noticed some areas where improvement could be needed.

“We dominated in singles and doubles,” Fisher said. “We struggled in some areas. I don’t think we’re anywhere near where we should be. These are building blocks. We have different things to focus on each weekend.”

On Sunday, NIU travelled to Bloomington, Ind. to take on No. 57 Indiana (6-4).

The match against the Hoosiers didn’t go the Huskies’ way, losing 5-2. The loss snapped their six-game winning streak.

NIU lost both of its doubles matches and only won two of its six singles.

Lagerlof started off singles with a win over Sven Lalic going 6-4, 3-6, and 6-2. The Huskies wouldn’t manage to earn another win in singles until Formont defeated Matthew McCoy, 6-0, 1-6 and 6-0.

Indiana’s Daniel Bednarczyk and Sam Monette defeated Langerlof and Amir 8-5 in the first doubles match. The loss ended the NIU duo’s perfect season.

Lynch and senior Jovan Zeljkovic were knocked off by Lalic and Dimitrije Tasic of Indiana, 8-4, to end doubles play.

"This is a really tough loss for our guys," Fisher said in a news release. "We fought really hard against a good Big Ten team. We just came up short tonight. We are so close, and I just hope our guys can take the positives out of this because there is a lot to take. It'll be motivation for us from here on out."

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