Men's Tennis | April 14th
Sycamore, Illinois – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team came close to winning the championship and the Mid-American Conference Championship Sunday on the Sycamore High School tennis courts. NIU (18-5, 7-3 MAC) led 3-0 early in the game, but WMU (16-5, 8-2 MAC) came back and narrowly won 4-3.
Huskies honored three seniors Chen Eng Tsai (Taipei, Taiwan), Michael Forbach (Austria, Rotis) and Armin Koshtoyan (Halle, Germany) After the match.
“We came into the game with a lot of energy,” head coach Rene Vidal said. “Unfortunately, as the game progressed, we didn't take advantage of our chances and the momentum changed. Once the momentum changes, it's hard to get back on track, and we couldn't do that today.”
The Huskies will now prepare for the MAC Championship, which will be held on Saturday, April 20th in Toledo, Ohio.
“I will speak to the players individually over the next few days to determine the best way forward,” Vidal said. “The most important thing is to learn from today's game and be quick with it. We're going to work hard this week to get ready for the MAC Championship.”
NIU took an early lead and won the doubles point.
Iker Gaztambide Arastia (Pamplona, Spain) and christopher nolin (Stockholm, Sweden) Won 6-3 in the third doubles match.with Koshtoyan Saul Bardulas (Santiage de Compostela, Spain) Won the second singles 7-5 to seal the point.
Koshtoyan earned NIU's second point with a resounding 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 5 singles.
Nolin won two sets 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6 singles, giving the Huskies a 3-0 lead.
The Huskies end the regular season tied for second place with Toledo in the MAC with a record of 7 wins and 3 losses.
The Huskies will face tournament host Toledo in the MAC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, April 20th, and if they advance, they will face the winner of WMU and Ball State on Sunday, April 21st.
singles tournament
- Anton Arjunkin (WMU) def. Chen Eng Tsai (NIU) 7-6(7-1), 6-2
- Benjamin George (WMU) def. Michael Forbach (NIU) 6-4, 6-2
- Ashton Adesoro (WMU) def. Iker Gaztambide Arastia (NIU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
- Jackson Boone (WMU) def. Saul Bardulas (NIU)4-6, 6-2, 6-1
- Armin Koshtoyan (NIU) Definition. Matej Kaiser (WMU) 6-2, 6-2
- christopher nolin (NIU) Definition. Adrian Quiroz (WMU) 6-4, 6-3\
doubles tournament
1. Anton Arjunkin/Jackson Boone (WMU) no doubt. Chen Eng Tsai/Michael Forbach (NIU) 6-3
2. Saul Bardulas/Armin Koshtoyan (NIU) Definition. Benjamin George/Drew Evans (WMU) 7-5 3. christopher nolin/Iker Gaztambide (NIU-M) def. Sajin Smith/Eli Herran (WMU) 6-3
Order of arrival
Singles (6, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2)
Doubles (2, 3, 1)
— Niu —
