April 27, 2006

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference announced Thursday night the 2006 Women's Tennis All-Big Ten team and Freshman, Athlete and Coach of the Year award winners at the annual Big Ten Championship banquet.

Cristelle Grier earned the third Athlete of the Year honor in her four years at Northwestern, completing a career that included a conference record of 43-1 entering this weekend's championship and four all-conference selections. Grier becomes the first player in Big Ten history to claim three Athlete of the Year awards. Freshman of the Year Georgia Rose, became the third Northwestern player in four years to garner that honor for the Wildcats. Joining them on the All-Big Ten team is teammate and two-time selection Alexis Prousis, giving the Wildcats more representatives (3) than any other team. Rounding out the individual honors was Coach of the Year Daryl Greenan, who became the first Iowa coach since Micki Shillig (1990) to take the accolade. Under Greenan's guidance, the Hawkeyes completed a 9-1 conference season and earned the second seed in the Big Ten Championship.

Fighting Illini sophomore Macall Harkins was a unanimous selection to this year's team after she claimed eight consecutive Big Ten wins. The sophomore was the only opponent to take down Grier, and twice garnered Big Ten Athlete of the Week accolades. Named the Orange and Blue's Most Improved Player in 2005, Harkins overcame a 4-5 fall to enter the conference tournament with a 18-14 record and the team's best win percentage (.563) among singles participants in more than 15 matches.

The Conference office also announced honorees from each team for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. 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.

A complete list of the 2006 All-Big Ten team and postseason honorees appear below.

Player of the Year:
Cristelle Grier, Northwestern

Freshman of the Year: 
Georgia Rose, Northwestern

Coach of the Year:
Daryl Greenan, Iowa

2006 All-Big Ten Team         2006 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
* Unanimous selection