If all the cards fall into place, former NIU All-MAC linebacker Javan Lee may come back to the football team in the fall.

Lee was initially listed on ESPN.com as declaring for the 2006 NFL Draft. But when queried, Lee said he did not officially declare and was only talking about it.

The former defensive captain’s future has been in doubt since hernia surgery sidelined him for all of last season. In 2004, he collected 119 tackles and was the leading MAC returner in tackles.

Lee, a senior, said he wanted to finish his college education and was planning to enroll in classes in the fall. When asked if he wanted to play for the Huskies in 2006, Lee said he would like to.

“It’s too early to tell,” Lee said. “I got to go through the process and it has to go through coach Novak. Yeah, I would like to play. I think I can contribute significantly.”

Lee also added that he has maintained his football shape and would be back to 100 percent by the time next season rolled around.

The century club

With his 5-3 decision over Northern Iowa’s C.J. Ettelson Sunday, NIU senior Josh Wooton is within one victory of joining the NIU wrestling 100-win club.

The 141-pound senior improved his record to 21-6 on the season and has 99 wins for his career. Ranked No. 11 in the nation in his weight class, the Ohio-native trails only two players — Sam Hiatt (110 wins) and Scott Owen (116 wins) — for the most victories during coach Dave Grant’s tenure.

Rough in the diamond

After sitting out most of last season with a wrist injury, NIU first baseman/designated hitter Scott Simon made his return to the lineup this weekend.

The junior went 4-for-10 at the plate at the No. 3 spot in the order in the three-game series against No. 10 Arizona State. Simon played in only 11 games last season before exiting for the season. Simon has led the team in batting average the last three years, capped by a career-high .374 average and 71 runs batted in during the 2004 campaign.

A familiar ugly statistic also reared its head for the baseball team over the weekend. The Huskies committed eight errors in three games, including five on Saturday during a 9-6 defeat. NIU committed 128 errors last year, 25 more than any other team in the MAC.

Some fresh faces

In her first offseason of recruiting, women’s soccer coach Marci Miller picked up her first five players for next season.

After losing eight players to graduation last year, the Huskies may have a total of 10 recruits to fill their roster as five additional players may join in the spring.

The five confirmed recruits include Audrey Holmer, Lisa Maier, Kelly Mullany, Sarah McClard and Cara Stutler.

“I am very excited about our recruiting class as a whole,” Miller said.

“The girls that we have signed today are going to help improve the program a lot. We are hoping to bring in 11 new players overall for next year and all of them will step in and compete for starting positions right away,” Miller said.

Probably the biggest name of the bunch is Stutler. A three-time team MVP, Stutler collected 112 points in her three-year career at Maize High School in Wichita, Kan.

One in the left column

The NIU women’s tennis team picked up its first win of the season Monday with a 4-3 victory over Eastern Illinois despite being shorthanded.

The Huskies (1-3) were forced to forfeit one doubles and one singles position that gave EIU a two-point advantage. But the young NIU squad struck back in singles, handily taking the No. 2-5 spots to get the clinching four points.

Freshman Jenny Edner dropped the first set 3-6 at No. 2 singles, but then posted back-to-back 6-3 sets to gain the valuable point.

“Bottom line is that we got a win, which is real nice for our confidence.” NIU coach Pontus Hiort said. “We didn’t play particularly well in doubles, but the singles matches started with a couple of quick victories in the lower part of the lineup and that swung the momentum in our favor. Ultimately, it came down to Jenny’s three-set win.”