Eric Honert (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) registered his team-leading ninth singles win of the season on Friday afternoon but it was the only point Valparaiso could register as the Crusaders fell 6-1 to Northern Illinois at the Boylan Tennis Center in Rockford, Ill.

Honert defeated Roman Turtygin 7-5, 6-4 at number two singles for his third straight victory.

“That was a great victory for Eric today,” head coach Jim Daugherty said.  “He played really well.”

Northern Illinois (5-2) won in straight sets at each of the other five singles spots.  Axel Lagerlof was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Chris Baum (Charlotte, N.C./Providence H.S.) at the top of the lineup while Dor Amir topped Kevin DeHerrera (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield H.S.) 6-1, 6-1 at the third spot.  Frederic Cadieux was a 6-0, 6-2 victor over Adam Whitmer (Shipshewana, Ind./Westview H.S.) at fourth singles while Maksym Lagutin topped Siddarth Mehta (South Bend, Ind./Clay H.S.) by the same score at the number six.  At fifth singles, Michael Woodson (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft H.S.) fell 6-2, 6-2 against Maximilian Phillips.

The Huskies also swept all three doubles matches.  At the second spot, DeHerrera and Honert forced a tie-break against Cadieux and Turtygin before falling 8-7 (2) while Baum and Whitmer fell 8-4 at the top spot against Amir and Lagerlof.  Bryant Poggensee-Wei and Phillips were 8-0 victors over Woodson and Mehta at the bottom of the lineup. 

“Northern Illinois is really a solid team,” Daugherty added.  Give them a lot of credit.  We didn’t see many unforced errors from them today.”

Valparaiso (2-2) will return to action at the Boylan Tennis Center Saturday morning to face IUPUI in a neutral site match.  First serve is set for 9 a.m.