After getting the rematch it wanted, the NIU men’s tennis team fell short of a major upset.

The Huskies lost 4-3 to top-seeded Western Michigan on Friday afternoon in the MAC Tournament semifinals. NIU hosted the tournament.

“We started very well,” NIU coach Pontus Hiort said. “We played our best doubles of the season. Everyone played hard.”

NIU opened its day on a high note. The Huskies won the opening doubles point with victories from the No. 1 doubles team of Brian Livingston and Adam Ford and the No. 2 doubles team of Jimmy Chu and Alex Friesen. The pairs won both matches by the score of 8-2.

In singles play, Livingston won the No. 1 singles match over WMU’s Kevin Hayward 6-0, 6-4.

“I wanted to come out gunning for Kevin,” Livingston said, who lost 6-1, 6-2 to Hayward in their regular season matchup.

Friesen’s 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles gave the Huskies their final point of the match.

Ford battled hard at No. 3 singles, but fell just short against the Broncos’ Alejandro Staub 6-4, 7-5 in the deciding match.

“They were just a bit better,” Hiort said. “The were able to capitalize on errors when we were not able to.”

The Huskies finished the season with a 11-8 record.

WMU (20-7) went on to shut out second-seeded Ball State 4-0 in the championship Saturday. Ball State earned its berth in the championship with a 4-3 victory over third-seeded Toledo.

The win marks the Broncos’ third-straight MAC Championship.

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