It was a small gathering of close friends, administration, parents and players at the NIU men’s tennis banquet.

The first-year host men’s tennis coach Charles Merzbacher treated his guests to a salad and a huge lasagna dinner. The entertainment came afterwards as Merzbacher showed off his television producing and editing skills by showing the highlights of the season on videotape.

The highlights consisted of slo-mo and photo action shots accompanied by the “Top Gun Anthem” and the Kenny Loggins track, “Danger Zone.”

The success of this year’s men’s tennis team set the tone for the rest of the evening and Merzbacher was grateful for the chance to coach at NIU.

“I would like to thank my boss Gerald O’Dell for hiring me. We’re going to be a power from now on. I really believe that,” Merzbacher said.

One NIU tennis fan agreed. “Hiring (Merzbacher) was the best decision O’Dell has ever made,” he said. “I truly believe this program has a chance to be the best in the country with Charles.”

Yet, it was his players who keyed his success and they were rewarded for it. They finished second in their first year in the Association of Mid-Continent Universities and boast three all-AMCU members: Mats Persson, Greg O’Neil, and Erik Andersch.

As for individual awards, freshman No. 4 player Dustin “The Furniture?” Dobrin was named rookie of the year and also took home the Gwilym T. Evans scholar award with a 3.81 GPA. No. 2 player Greg O’Neil edged out the entire team to win the Most Improved Player honor. The Doubles Player of the Year award went to Erik Andersch. The Most Valuable Player award went to Mats Persson, who had a 23-13 season.