April 27, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Highlighted by senior All-American Cristelle Grier's (Epsom, England/Putney) third Athlete of the Year selection , three members of Northwestern's 11th-ranked women's tennis team were honored with All-Big Ten accolades, the conference office announced Thursday evening. Freshman Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day) was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in addition to her all-conference selection, while junior Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forst, Ill./Lake Forest) earned her second-straight All-Big Ten honor.
For the 14th-ranked Grier, the Athlete of the Year accolade is the finishing touch on the nearly unblemished canvas of her career. NU's record holder in total wins becomes the first player in conference history to win win the award three times and becomes only the second player (Katherine Nasser, 1997-2000) in Northwestern history to be named All-Big Ten in four-consecutive years.
Grier finishes her career as the most prolific singles player in conference history, as she won a league-record 41-straight Big Ten singles matches and finished the regular-season with a 43-1 career mark in conference play.
After playing to a perfect 22-0 record in dual action this season -- including a perfect 10-0 mark in conference singles competition -- No. 43 Rose was named the conference Freshman of the Year. Rose becomes the fourth Wildcat to garner the accolade in the last three years and the sixth in program history. Rose looks to make more NU history during this weekend's Big Ten Championship as she is just two wins shy of tying Grier's school record of 28-straight singles wins.
The 41st-ranked Prousis earned her second All-Big Ten honor in as many years, becoming only the 14th player in NU history to earn multiple all-conference accolades. Prousis compiled a 6-2 conference singles record this season and is 30-12 overall.
Northwestern led the conference with three all-conference award recipients. Both Grier and Rose were unanimous selections.
The conference office also announced honorees from each team for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, with Grier being chosen as NU's nominee. The 11 student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. These student-athletes are now candidates for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, as the conference office will honor one male and one female student-athlete from each institution at the end of the school year.
The Wildcats' quest to win their eighth-straight conference title resumes tomorrow at 10 a.m. as the first-seeded 'Cats play No. 8 seed Penn State at the Atkins Tennis Center.
A complete list of the 2006 All-Big Ten team and postseason honorees appear below.Freshman of the Year -- Georgia Rose, Northwestern Athlete of the Year -- Cristelle Grier, Northwestern Coach of the Year -- Daryl Greenan, Iowa
2005 All-Big Ten Team 2005 Sportsmanship Award Honorees *Macall Harkins, Illinois Brianna Knue, Illinois *Sarah Batty, Indiana Sarah Batty, Indiana *Meg Racette, Iowa Jacqueline Lee, Iowa Kara Delicata, Michigan Debra Streifler, Michigan Elizabeth Exon, Michigan Sarah Andrews, Michigan State Christine Bader, Michigan State Nischela Reddy, Minnesota *Nischela Reddy, Minnesota Cristelle Grier, Northwestern *Cristelle Grier, Northwestern Caitlin O'Keefe, Ohio State *Georgia Rose, Northwestern Sasha Abraham, Penn State Alexis Prousis, Northwestern Brooke Beier, Purdue *Randi Schuler, Purdue Kaylan Caiati, Wisconsin Caitlin Burke, Wisconsin