A player of the week, a coach of the year and a first-ever North Star Conference championship—that is what the NIU women’s tennis team ended its fall season with.

The women ended with an overall record of 4-2, but they won the big one, the North Star Conference tournament. Conference foes Akron and DePaul finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively, behind the Huskies.

One big reason why the Huskies were able to win the championship was the play of their ace, senior Jana Garrison. Unbeaten in North Star championship play, Garrison swept all three number one singles challengers en route to her nomination as the Oct. 17 conference Athlete of the Week. That is quite an honor for the senior because it marks the first time that a women’s tennis player has been voted the Athlete of the Week in the North Star Conference. Amazingly, Garrison came into the tournament seeded No. 3 in the number one slot and she certainly didn’t play as a third seed.

“She started out the season slow,” NSC Coach of the Year, Patty Groth said. “But I knew all along that she was capable of taking the title.”

Garrison wasn’t satisfied with just a singles title, so she hooked up with teammate Monica Larson in the doubles division. Seeded No. 1 in the number one doubles slot, the two won the crown. Garrison completed the fall tennis season with a 5-1 individual record and a 7-1 doubles record.

“Jana played really well throughout the whole tournament and is very deserving of the conference award,” Groth said. “I have much respect for her game and her approach to it. Jana is a poised, confident player who is in complete control of herself.”

Although Garrison was a major factor in the Huskie triumph, she wasn’t the only reason.

At the number two slot, NIU sent No. 1 seed freshman Hild Andersch into the thick of things and she responded well with a runner-up showing. Another freshman, Jamie Cheeks, seeded No. 2, came up a bit short in her attempt for a crown at number three when she was defeated in the finals by a tough Akron opponent.

“Inexperience came upon the kids in a collegiate tournament,” Groth said. “They played extremely well, but came up a bit short.”

The Huskies took the crown at number four when Larson earned her second title of the tournament which was an important win for NIU.

“She didn’t have a real strong showing,” Groth said. “She played well when she had to. It was a real crucial win.”

One person that Groth was pulling for was senior Kris Whitney. Whitney, seeded No. 2 at number five, lost a tough quarterfinal match to a DePaul player and ended up with a third-place finish.

“If there was one person that I wanted to win, it was Kris,” Groth said. “Things just didn’t go her way.”

At the number six slot, NIU also got a second-place finish from Lisa Boedecker, who Groth felt had a good tournament.

Turning to doubles again, the Huskies took the crowns at the number one and two slots. At number two, Andersch and Cheeks put their inexperience aside and rolled to a decisive victory.

“They had really impressive wins,” Groth said. “They have a lot to look forward to.”

Rounding out the tournament were Whitney and Boedecker teaming up for a second-place finish at the number three doubles slot. A runner-up finish was more than anticipated for the two because they were seeded No. 3 and they upset the No. 2 seed before bowing out in the finals to Akron.

All in all, Groth was more than pleased with her team’s performance in the tournament and for the fall season. She was happy to be named NSC Coach of the Year, but gave all the credit to her kids saying the award was “secondary.”

“Their hard work is what made the coaches vote that way,” Groth said. “It was a good tourney and good fall season. We will condition now and come back in January and we won’t quit until April.”