April 22, 2008

2008 Mid-American Conference Men's Tennis Tournament Bracket in PDF Format

DeKalb, Ill. - Northern Illinois head men's tennis coach Pontus Hiort believes that any one of six teams has the ability to win the 2008 Mid-American Conference Men's Tennis Championship.

Northern Illinois, however, has a distinct advantage over the rest of the teams in the conference, as this year's championship will be held at Huskie Tennis Courts in DeKalb, Illinois from April 24-26. The rain site will be the Clock Tower Racquet Club located at 7801 East State Street in Rockford, Illinois.

Huskie Tennis Courts are located on the campus of Northern Illinois at 1200 Stadium Drive North, DeKalb, Illinois. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge. Fans can also check out live stats for the tournament at www.niuhuskies.com.

"It's great that we are hosting the tournament," Hiort said. "It's a nice sendoff and experience for our three senior student-athletes."

The tournament begins on Thursday at 10 a.m. (CST), as No. 3 Toledo squares off with No. 6 Buffalo, with the winner facing No. 2 Ball State at 2 p.m. on Friday.

NIU enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed and will square off with No. 5 seed Chicago State at 2 p.m. on Thursday. The Huskies defeated the Cougars, 6-1, on April 16. The winner of that match will face top-seeded and two-time defending MAC Champion, Western Michigan at 10 a.m. on Friday.

Despite dropping a 7-0 decision at the hands of Western Michigan in NIU's season finale, Hiort believes that the Huskies will bounce back in fine fashion with the help of their home court and fans.

"It should be an advantage to us," Hiort said.  "We need to come into the tournament with the mindset that we are going to compete for the MAC title. When the tournament starts all six teams that participate have an equal chance to win.  It's just a matter of who plays the best tennis in those three days. 

"There is no reason why we shouldn't be the team that pulls it out."

2008 MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE MEN'S TENNIS TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Huskie Tennis Courts * DeKalb, Illinois

April 24-26, 2008

Thursday, April 24

10 a.m. - No. 3 Toledo vs. No. 6 Buffalo

2 p.m. - No. 4 Northern Illinois vs. No. 5 Chicago State

Friday, April 25

10 a.m. - Winner of Northern Illinois/Chicago State vs. No. 1 Western Michigan

2 p.m. - Winner of Toledo/Buffalo vs. No. 2 Ball State

Saturday, April 26

1 p.m. - CHAMPIONSHIP

##NIU##