DEKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University men's tennis head coach Patrick Fisher announced on Tuesday (May 9) the signing of Kristopher Ortega to a National Letter of Intent to join the Huskie men's tennis program. 

Ortega joins the Huskies from the University of Illinois, where he redshirted during the 2016-17 season, he will have four years of eligibility remaining at NIU. 

"I can't express how excited we are to have Kris and his family join the Huskies," said Fisher. "Kris was the top recruit coming out of high school in the State of Illinois, ranked top 50 in the county and was five-star recruit according to TennisRecruiting.net. 

"What I really love about Kris is his passion for tennis and his relentless work ethic to be the best he can be, not to mention he is an outstanding student as well. He is built with high level of character and is going to have a great career here at NIU. With both Kris and Victor Spolidorio having four years of competition here at NIU, they will take our team to the next level with their attitude and work ethic."

A native of Homer Glen, Ill., Ortega was the No. 48 national recruit in the Class of 2016, and the top-ranked recruit in the State of Illinois. He reached the Round of 64 at the 2016 USTA Boys Under-18 National Championship and has won numerous titles at USTA junior events. 

Ortega joins Victor Spolidorio (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap), who signed with the Huskies in the fall, as NIU's second newcomer for the 2017-18 season.