April 5, 2008

Box Score

Northern Illinois 7, Buffalo 0

DeKalb, Illinois - The Northern Illinois men's tennis team opened their Mid-American Conference slate in fine fashion with a 7-0 whitewash of the University at Buffalo at the Huskie Tennis Courts on Saturday (April 5) afternoon.

"I am very pleased with the way we started in the MAC," NIU head men's tennis coach Pontus Hiort said. "We played very well and I liked the way our strong doubles play continued and carried into our singles play."

With the victory, NIU improves to 8-4 overall and 1-0 in Mid-American Conference play, while Buffalo falls to 5-15 on the campaign and 0-4 in conference action.

NIU's No. 2 doubles team of Alex Friesen (Vancouver, British Columbia/Burnaby Central) and Jimmy Chu (Lima, Peru/San Augustin) remained undefeated in the spring with an 8-2 defeat of Marcelo Mazzeto and Juan Carlos Wynter. Their 12-match winning streak is the longest in Huskie history since NIU's Pete Burkhart and Jeff D'Adamo won all 20 of their matches in the spring of 1981.

Friesen also defeated Mazzeto in singles action with a 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 come-from-behind win at No. 2 singles. Chu was victorious at No. 4 singles with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Kirill Kolomyts.

NIU junior Brian Livingston (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) improved his winning streak to 10 matches with a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Nikesh Singh Panthlia at No. 1 singles. Livingston teamed up with senior Adam Ford (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) for the 8-2 win over Octavian Stane and Panthlia at No. 1 doubles. Ford later earned the 6-3, 7-6 win over Stane at No. 3 singles.

Huskie freshman Matt Hansen (Topeka, Kan./Miami Online (FL)) picked up the 6-2, 6-3 win over Wynter at No. 5 singles, while Javier Bernabe (Segovia, Spain/IES Mariano Quintanilla) claimed the 6-2, 6-1 win over Alexis Lluis at No. 6 singles.   

Hiort believes that the best is yet to come for his Huskies.

"I like the direction this team is headed in," Hiort said. "We're taking the right steps in becoming a good team."

NIU is back in action tomorrow (April 6), as they welcome Ball State to the Huskie Tennis Courts for a 1 p.m. (CST) first serve.

Men's Tennis

Northern Illinois *, Buffalo *

April 5, 2008 * DeKalb, Illinois

Huskie Tennis Courts

Singles:
No. 1 - Brian Livingston (NIU) def. Nikesh Singh Panthlia (UB), 7-6, 6-4

No. 2 - Alex Friesen (NIU) def. Marcelo Mazzeto (UB), 3-6, 6-4, 1-0

No. 3 - Adam Ford (NIU) def. Octavian Stane (UB), 6-3, 7-6

No. 4 - Jimmy Chu (NIU) def. Kirill Kolomyts (UB), 6-3, 6-3

No. 5 - Matt Hansen (NIU) def. Juan Carlos Wynter (UB), 6-2, 6-3

No. 6 - Javier Bernabe (NIU) def. Alexis Lluis (UB), 6-2, 6-1

Doubles:

No. 1 - Brian Livingston/Adam Ford (NIU) def. Octavian Stane/Nikesh Singh Panthlia (UB), 8-2

No. 2 - Jimmy Chu/Alex Friesen (NIU) def. Marcelo Mazzeto/Juan Carlos Wynter (UB), 8-2

No. 3 - Kirill Kolomyts/Alexis Lluis (UB) def. Alfonso Monroy/Matt Hansen (NIU), 8-5

##NIU##