Maximilian Phillips
With two singles matches left to play, Northern Illinois was at the heels of No. 68 Brown, 3-2.
However, the Huskies were unable to overcome of the deficit and fell to Bears, 5-2.
“This match was there for the taking today,” said Patrick Fisher. “Unfortunately we came up short today, but we put up an unbelievable fight at certain spots in our lineup. We were leading the match at one point, 2-1, and we had Brown on their heels scrambling for answers.”
The Huskies (10-5) dropped the doubles point to the Bears (10-3) but freshman Dor Amir and sophomore Axel Lagerlof took the upper hand with their wins at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. Amir won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, as did Lagerlof, 6-2, 6-3.
Following the wins, the Huskies carried a 2-1 lead and sparked Northern Illinois’ energy at Boylan Tennis Center. Senior Roman Turtygin and sophomore Maksym Lagutin fell at No. 2 and No. 5, respectively, and put the Huskies back on their heels, 3-2.
Having both lost their first sets, freshman Frederic Cadieux and junior Maximilian Phillips rallied in their second sets to clinch a third tie-breaking set. However, both lost and the Huskies fell to 68th ranked Brown, 5-2.
Fisher closed by saying “We need to continue to improve all the way through the line-up. I know good things are ahead for us. But as I have said before about this team, we still have so much room for improvement and we are looking forward to getting outdoors in Florida to get ready for Conference play.”
Northern Illinois will head to Florida next week for spring break and will open up March 12 against North Carolina Central and Quinnipiac in Orlando, Fla.
For more information on NIU men’s tennis and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
