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Three men’s tennis players named All-MAC

May 2, 2012
Dor Amir

Dor Amir

Three Huskies were selected to this year’s All-Mid-American Conference list, highlighted by Dor Amir’s selection to the first team announced Tuesday by the conference office.

Axel Lagerlof and Roman Turtygin were named to this year’s second team. It is the first time since 2009 the Huskies have had at least three selections to the All-MAC team.

“This is a great accomplishment for those guys. Dor, Roman an Axel all had great seasons,” said head coach Patrick Fisher. “Those guys contributed to a lot of wins we had this year and they laid the foundation for the type of success we expect to have year in and year out at NIU. We’re hoping for similar results like this in the future”

Amir, a redshirt freshman from Israel, finished the season with a 21-7 singles record and a doubles register of 18-11.

During 2012, Amir tallied an undefeated season at No. 2, taking all 12 of his matches versus his opponents. Most impressively, he finished 4-4 at No. 1 highlighted by a dominating, 6-1 6-2, win against Ivy League foe Brown that earned him MAC Player of the Week March 15.

Lagerlof earns his second MAC honor of his already distinguished career, as he was the MAC’s Newcomer of the year last season.

The Malmo, Sweden native finished 2012 with the exact record as Amir at 21-7 singles and 18-11 in doubles, including a 4-1 tally in MAC singles play. Beginning March 9 through April 14, he won 11 consecutive matches, five of which were in three sets.

Turtygin, a native of Russia, closed his NIU career with a 15-13 singles and doubles record in 2012.

After a consistent start to the season, the senior went on to record a 9-4 record in his last 13 matches, including an important 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 2 against Zeyad Montasser of Western Michigan in the MAC Tournament Semifinals. It is the first all-conference honor of his career.

It was first time since 2009 that Northern Illinois had three players tabbed to the All-MAC team, when Pawel Poziomski was named Newcomer of the Year and the second team. Jurica Grubisic and Javier Bernabe also joined the list that season, earning first and second team honors, respectively.

The Huskies are coming off one of its most successful seasons in program history, finishing with an overall record of 21-7 and claiming its first-ever MAC championship as the co-regular season champion alongside Buffalo with a 4-1 conference register.

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