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Men’s tennis beats Army to close spring break

March 15, 2013
Axel Lagerlof

Axel Lagerlof

It only took singles play for Northern Illinois to earn victory in the spring break finale versus Army as the Huskies defeated the Black Knights, 4-2. Due to time constraints on the courts, doubles were not contested.

NIU finished spring break with a 3-1 record to improve the team’s overall register to 11-5.

“Any time we get a chance to play against any of the service academies – Army, Navy or Air Force – it’s a great privilege,” said head coach Patrick Fisher.

“The challenge today was to see if we could come out and replicate what we did yesterday against a good Appalachian State team and we did that today and I’m really proud of our guys,” Fisher added. “Army played exactly as we knew they would. They fight unbelievably hard and they never give up. They try to wear you down physically and mentally and our guys stepped up to that challenge today.”

With limited time on the courts, the Huskies and the Black Knights only contested singles in the match. Northern Illinois dominated at the top of the lineup and sealed the deal with a win at the very bottom of the scoresheet to clinch NIU’s 11th victory of the season.

Axel Lagerlof won his second-straight match at No. 1 against Army ace Asika Isoh, winning in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2. At the No. 2 spot, Frederic Cadieux took on Rashad Shelton and also won in straight sets to clinch a point, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 2. Dor Amir won his first singles match of the trip as he defeated Caison Best at No. 3, 6-1, 6-3.

The match came down to the wire as Simon Formont and Roman Cacha faced off for the Huskie win or the match draw. Cacha took the first set of the contest with a 6-3 triumph but Formont rallied back in the second to a 6-0 set victory. The two traded blows in the final frame but the NIU freshman emerged victorious, 6-4.

The Huskies will return to action Sunday, March 24, at Southern Illinois.

For more information on NIU men’s tennis and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.