It was nail-biting time for NIU women’s tennis coach Patty Groth when her team trailed Purdue 4-3 and only two matches remained undecided.

Everyone probably knows what’s coming next. Yes, the NIU netters pulled off those last two matches and got the 5-4 win against their Big Ten opponents last Saturday at Milwaukee. It was NIU’s first women’s tennis victory ever over a Big Ten team. Monica Larson and Lisa Boedecker were the players who claimed the two key matches for the Huskies.

The Huskie win in the nail-biter put their dual-meet record at 4-1. NIU trailed the Boilermakers 2-1 after doubles play as the No. 1 NIU duo of Jana Garrison and Larson defeated the PU team of Erica Adams and Michelle Oelze, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. That Boilermaker tandem has been playing together for three years and was ranked in the Midwest.

After the first two singles matches were decided, the Huskies found themselves trailing 4-1 and things started to look bleak for the netters. But Garrison and Jami Cheek put the Huskies back into the meet with straight-set singles wins to close the gap to 4-3.

The last two matches were the nail-biters, with Larson and Boedecker winning in three sets. Boedecker, playing No. 6 singles, got the tying win, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Larson then sealed the win with her 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory in the No. 4 match.

Cheek said the team was excited after the dramatic win. “We were very excited after Monica won. We jumped up and down and hugged each other.” Groth said the netters were “delirious” after their win.

Larson said, “Everyone contributed to the win. After we won 9-0 against Valparaiso, we were all confident and played very well against Purdue.”

Groth said her team played up to their capabilities. “I am so proud of how they played. All the girls played extremely well and it was a great win for us.”

Groth said the victory over Purdue was one of the highlights of her career.

“I would consider this the biggest win because it was our first Big Ten win, and it shows that we can compete with just about everyone,” she said. “We’ve been getting stronger and stronger every year. My first year, we started off 9-0 but this year’s team is much stronger, with a stronger schedule.”

Before the Purdue match, NIU suffered a 7-2 setback against Marquette Friday but came back strong against Valparaiso, 9-0, the next day.

“Marquette had a boisterous crowd behind them—no excuses—but I think it did affect our players,” said Groth.

Obviously, it didn’t affect them the next match as NIU shut out Valparaiso with only the No. 3 doubles match going three sets.