The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's tennis team opened the spring, or second semester, portion of their 2011-2012 schedule with a 7-0 loss to Division I Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois Friday.

Northern Illinois 7, UW-Whitewater 0
singles
1.  Maksym Bartiuk, NIU, defeated Byron Balkin (Madison/Memorial), WW, 6-2, 6-2
2.  Roman Turtygin, NIU, defeated Andrew Bayliss (Sheboygan/North), WW, 6-3, 6-1
3.  Axel Lagerolf, NIU, defeated Mitch Osborne (Crystal Lake, IL/Central), WW, 6-1, 6-0
4.  Dor Amir, NIU, defeated Erik Scanlan (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville), WW, 6-1, 6-2
5.  Max Phillips, NIU, defeated Brian Klein (Brookfield/East), WW, 6-2, 6-3
6.  Frederic Cadieux, NIU, defeated Brady Porter (Madison/Memorial), WW, 6-1, 6-1
doubles
1.  Balkin/Osborne, WW, defeated Mikhail Titov/Turtygin, NIU, 8-4
2.  Lagerlof/Amir, NIU, defeated Bayliss/Cameron Laktash (Crystal Lake, IL/South), WW, 8-2
3.  Bartiuk/Cadieux, NIU, defeated Scanlan/Kevin Friend (Deerfield, IL/Deerfield), WW, 8-3

One point is earned for each singles match, plus one point for best out of three doubles.

UW-W will host a trio of opponents February 10-11 at the Four Lakes Athletic Club in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.  UW-W will face Luther College at 12:00 Friday, Wheaton College at 12:30 Saturday, and UW-Oshkosh at 3:30 Saturday.

The primary season for NCAA III men's tennis is in the spring.  Warhawks Byron Balkin (Madison/Memorial) and Mitch Osborne (Crystal Lake, IL/Central) earned ITA All-America honors in doubles in the fall by advancing to the ITA Division III championship, the major tournament in the fall for Division III men. 

UW-W went 28-6 in dual meets last year, earning the Warhawks' fifth consecutive berth in the NCAA III championship.  Whitewater is ranked 21st in the ITA Division III preseason poll for this year.

For additional information:  Frank Barnes, UW-W coach