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Women’s tennis hosts pair of matches

March 4, 2011
Haley Dekkinga

Haley Dekkinga

After being away from competition for two weeks, the Northern Illinois women’s tennis team (1-6) is back in action this weekend, hosting Western Illinois and Northern Iowa at the Boylan Tennis Center in Rockford, Ill.

NIU welcomes WIU at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 5, followed by UNI on Sunday, March 6, with matches to start at noon.

Last time out, the Huskies were defeated 7-0 at Helfaer Tennis Stadium by Marquette. Each NIU player fell in straight sets, except for the team’s wins leader, freshman Haley Dekkinga, who was on the cusp of notching her fifth victory, before dropping the super tiebreaker, 11-9.

Like NIU, the Leathernecks (1-6) took last weekend off.

Two weeks ago, Western Illinois was swept twice at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis., by Wisconsin and UW-Milwaukee. Kara Chicoine, Claire Griffin and Melissa and Kaufmann each have one win on the year, all picked up during the team’s lone-win on the season, a 4-3 decision on Jan. 23 at Chicago State.

The Panthers (6-4) lone match last weekend was a 4-3 defeat on the road at Iowa State. Jessica Kuzelmann leads the team with a 9-1 singles record competing at No. 3 and 4, while Chelsea Moore is right behind her with an 8-2 record playing at No. 5 and 6.

Northern Illinois defeated both opponents last season on the road during its season-long six-match win streak, upending WIU 6-1, and earning a 4-3 decision over UNI.

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