April 11, 2008

DeKalb, Illinois - For the second time this season, Northern Illinois senior men's tennis player Alex Friesen (Vancouver, British Columbia/Burnaby Central) has been named the Mid-American Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the period ending April 6.

Friesen, who carries a 3.28 cumulative G.P.A in Accounting, was also named the MAC Men's Tennis Player of the Week for the period ending February 10.      

The Vancouver, British Columbia native, who has not lost a singles or doubles match since January 27, went a combined 4-0 last weekend in MAC action against both Buffalo and Ball State.

Friesen extended his singles winning streak to 10 with victories over Buffalo's Marcello Mazzetto (3-6, 6-4, 1-0) and Ball State's Eduardo Pavia (6-3, 7-6) at No. 2. Friesen and doubles partner Jimmy Chu increased their winning streak to 13 matches, the longest in NIU history since 1981, with wins over Buffalo's Mazzetto and Juan Carlos Wynter (8-2) and Ball State's Pavia and Joe Vallee (9-8).

For the year, Friesen is 22-6 in singles play, while he and Chu are 18-4 overall.

Northern Illinois is back in action on Sunday, April 13, as they host the Toledo Rockets for a 1 p.m. (CST) first serve.

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