Maksym Bartiuk
With a 3-2 lead late in the contest, the Northern Illinois men’s tennis team fell to Western Michigan in the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals, 4-3.
The Huskies end their impressive 2012 season 21-7.
The Huskies lost the doubles point with losses at Nos. 1 and 3, but Maksym Bartiuk and Roman Turtygin were leading in the No. 2 match but the match was not finished due to the point having been decided.
The Broncos jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Axel Lagerlof fell at No. 3 to Pablo Olivarez, 6-1, 6-4, but rallied back with three-straight wins at Nos. 2, 5 and 4.
Turtygin had a strong 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 2, followed by freshman Frederic Cadieux’s 6-3, 6-3 triumph at No. 5. Bartiuk would claim NIU’s final point at No. 4 with 6-4, 6-2 victory over Ross VanderPloeg, 6-4, 6-2.
Both Dor Amir at No. 1 and Max Phillips at No. 6 went to three sets to determine the final spot in the MAC Championship. After Phillips fell to Aaron Wong to tie the match at 3-3, Amir battled in the final tiebreaker set but would falter, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9).
With the Huskies season at an end, Western Michigan and Buffalo will face each other in the MAC Championship tomorrow afternoon for the conference’s automatic berth the NCAA Championship.
For more information on NIU men’s tennis and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
