NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's tennis team will officially open its spring dual match season on Saturday, when the Redbirds travel north to DeKalb to take on Northern Illinois. First serve is set for 1 p.m. at the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House.
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
• Sophomore Christian Capacci was selected as a Summit League Player to Watch for 2026, after he compiled a 13-5 record in singles play (4-1 in Summit League) and won five consecutive Summit League matches from March 22-April 16.
• The doubles team of Tomas Valencia and Adrian Dibildox earned spots in the ITA Conference Masters Championships this fall, and Valencia also competed in the men's singles qualifier matches.
• The Redbirds and Huskies are familiar with each other, as the teams competed across three events during the fall season. Last year, Illinois State defeated NIU by a score of 5-2 in their lone dual match.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
• NIU begins the season on Friday at 1 p.m. against IU Indy (0-1), before hosting the Redbirds on Saturday. The Huskies cap their opening weekend with a 9 a.m. start on Sunday at Chicago State (0-2).
• NIU has three returning seniors in Iker Gaztambide Arrastia, Federico Scotuzzi and Iker Dellien Velasco.
• Gaztambide Arrastia added All-MAC First Team to his resume last season and sits at 49 career singles wins, following a strong fall season.
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