March 12, 2008

St. Augustine, Fla.  - The Northern Illinois men's tennis team extended their winning streak to four matches with a 7-2 victory over Division II Flagler at the Flagler Tennis Center on Wednesday afternoon.

"It was a great effort by the guys," NIU head men's tennis coach Pontus Hiort said. "We didn't play our best tennis, but we competed really well and fought hard. To still be able to pull the win out is pretty nice."

Senior Alex Friesen (Vancouver, British Columbia/Burnaby Central) and junior Jimmy Chu (Lima, Peru/San Augustin) each won a pair of matches against the Saints, as the duo teamed up for the 8-6 win over Aaron Haines and Kyle Maloof at No. 2 doubles. Friesen upended Haines (7-5, 7-5) at No. 2 singles, while Chu downed Harry Snoxell (6-4, 6-4) at No. 4 singles.

NIU freshman Matt Hansen (Topeka, Kan./Miami Online (FL)) and Diego Zegarra-Ballon (Lima, Peru/Markham College Prep) picked up the 8-6 win over Steve Coulis and Jeremy Lamande at No. 3 doubles.

At No. 1 singles, NIU junior Brian Livingston (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) collected the 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 triumph over David Catrone. Senior Adam Ford (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) claimed the 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win over Lamande at No. 3 singles, while teammate Javier Bernabe (Segovia, Spain/IES Mariano Quintanilla) earned the 7-5, 6-0 victory over Coulis at No. 6 singles.

NIU is back in action on Saturday, March 22, as the Huskies travel to Chicago to square off with DePaul. First serve is set for 1 p.m. (CST).

Men's Tennis

Northern Illinois 7, Eckerd 2

March 12 * St. Augustine, Fla.

Singles:
No. 1 - Brian Livingston, NIU, def. David Catrone, FC, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

No. 2 - Alex Friesen, NIU, def. Aaron Haines, FC, 7-5, 7-5

No. 3 - Adam Ford, NIU, def. Jeremy Lamande, FC, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3

No. 4 - Jimmy Chu, NIU, def. Harry Snoxell, FC, 6-4, 6-4

No. 5 - Kyle Maloof, FC, def. Matt Hansen, NIU, 6-0, 6-7, 1-0

No. 6 - Javier Bernabe, NIU, def. Steve Coulis, FC, 7-5, 6-0

Doubles:

No. 1 - David Catrone/Harry Snoxell, FC, def. Adam Ford/Brian Livingston, NIU, 8-6

No. 2 - Alex Friesen/Jimmy Chu, NIU, def. Aaron Haines/Kyle Maloof, FC, 8-6

No. 3 - Matt Hansen/Diego Zegarra-Ballon, NIU, def Steve Coulis/Jeremy Lamande, FC, 8-6

##NIU##