The preseason hype is beginning for the NIU football team.

Juniors Garrett Wolfe and Doug Free have been named to the Nationalchamps.net All-American team.

Wolfe was named to the second team and Free was named to the third team.

The junior tailback also made the Web site’s preseason top-20 Heisman Trophy candidates listing, which ranked him 12th.

“The national recognition is tremendous for our program,” NIU coach Joe Novak said. “But it’s preseason on a Web site. There’s a lot of work and a lot of football between now and December.”

Central Michigan senior defensive end Daniel Bazuin was the only other MAC player named to one of the teams.

Shooting low

NIU men’s golf couldn’t close out the Eastern Kentucky Spring Invitational with a win Sunday.

The Huskies finished regulation play tied for first with Tennessee Tech and Eastern Kentucky.

On the first playoff hole, NIU shot five pars — not enough to stop Tennessee Tech — and tied for second place with Eastern Kentucky.

Senior Ethan Roush finished the tournament in second place, 11 shots behind the leader. Roush finished by shooting two under par on the closing round.

Also finishing in the top 10 was senior Nick Schenk, who placed third and sophomore Zach Jecklin, tied for sixth.

Brains and Ability

Gymnast Ashlee Williams was recognized Saturday for achievements off the mat.

The senior was named to the Academic All-MAC team for the third-consecutive year.

Williams was one of two honorees with a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

“Whether it’s athletically or academically, Ashlee has always achieved above and beyond,” coach Mark Sontag said.

Williams also will be an alternate for the uneven parallel bars in Saturday’s NCAA regional in Lafeyette, Alabama after finishing tied for fourth in the MAC championships.

Tennis Swept Up

NIU women’s tennis lost in two MAC matches this weekend.

Friday the Huskies were defeated by Toledo 5-2.

Toledo swept the doubles matches, leading 3-0 to start the match, but NIU managed to split the singles matches.

Freshman Jenny Edner and junior Megan Brooks each won a singles match for the Huskies.

Eastern Michigan held NIU scoreless to win 7-0 Saturday. The Huskies were quickly shut out in the singles matches, as EMU won all four in two sets.

Coach of the year

NIU women’s basketball alumna and DeKalb High School women’s basketball head coach Deb Whitman was named District 5 Coach of the Year by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Thursday.

Whitman, a starter on the 1992-93 team, helped DeKalb to a 26-6 record and took the school to its first ever Upstate Eight Conference title and IHSA SuperSectional berth.