Nelle Youel
Northern Illinois sophomore Nelle Youel tied NIU’s 24-year-old school record for singles wins with her 26th victory of the season as the Huskies fell to Ball State, 5-2, in women’s tennis action Friday at the Boylan Tennis Courts in Rockford.
Youel, who plays No. 1 singles for the Huskies, defeated Courtney Wild of Ball State, 6-2, 6-2 to improve her spring dual match record to 20-3, and is 26-5 overall including her 6-2 mark during the fall.
Youel and doubles partner Arantza De La Torre also claimed an 8-4 win at No. 1 doubles, giving Youel 48 total victories on the year and tying her for second on the single season combined chart.
“Today was about Nelle and what she’s done for us this year,” said NIU head coach Ryun Ferrell. “She’s a great example and has played so well match in and match out. The best news is, she’s only a sophomore.”
Northern Illinois freshman Cristina Alvarez picked up the Huskies’ other point versus Ball State with a 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 comeback win as she claimed the third-set super tiebreaker 10-7.
Ball State improved to 14-10, 4-3 in the Mid-American Conference, with the win. The Huskies fell to 14-9, 0-7 in the Mid-American Conference heading into Saturday’s season finale versus league-leader Miami. The match starts at 1 p.m. and will be played either at the West Tennis Courts on campus or indoors at the Boylan Tennis Courts in Rockford.
“We’re playing hard, we’ve got Miami [Saturday] and we’re gonna finish strong and do this the right way,” Ferrell said.
For more information on NIU women’s tennis and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
