Heim Repeats as IWU Women’s Tennis “Most Valuable”

April 25, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — For the second straight season, junior Allison Heim has been chosen as the “Most Valuable Player” for the Illinois Wesleyan University women’s tennis team.

Heim (Decatur, Mt. Zion HS) was chosen to the first team of the all-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin squad for the second consecutive year after being second team all-CCIW as a freshman. She was 12-7 overall in 2007-08 and 5-1 against CCIW opponents.

After three seasons, Heim is 37-18 in singles, making her 19th in total singles wins at Wesleyan.

Teaming with senior Sarah Rusch, Heim was 11-8 at No. 1 and 4-2 against the league. Heim and Rusch finished third at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, and teamed to finish third at No. 1 doubles in the conference tourney.

Heim and sophomore Colleen McShane (Roselle, Wheaton, St. Francis HS) were chosen to serve as co-captains for the 2008-09 squad.

McShane was 4-14 overall in singles and 3-7 at No. 5 during the year.

Rusch (Naperville, Ill.. Neuqua Valley HS), a second team all-CCIW selection, finished the season 10-15 overall, 7-8 at No. 2 singles and 3-3 vs. league foes. She ended her career with a 44-27 singles record, tied for 16th most singles wins at the school.

First year head coach Krista Cardona, whose team placed fifth in the CCIW meet, awarded letters to 10 players. They are, with hometowns and high schools:

SENIOR – Sarah Rusch (Naperville, Ill.. Neuqua Valley HS).

JUNIORS– Katie Heaney (Shoreview, Minn., Mounds View HS); Allison Heim (Decatur, Ill., Mt. Zion HS); Colleen McShane (Roselle, Ill., Wheaton, St. Francis HS); Kristen Piotrowski (Palatine, Ill., Fremd HS).

SOPHOMORE – Cate Hunter (Oak Park, Ill., Oak Park-River Forest HS).

FRESHMEN –Kelsey Hennessy (Palos Park, Ill., A.A.Stagg HS); Kate Meyer (LaGrange, Ill., Lyons Township HS); Jenna Rowland (Bourbonnais, Ill., Bradley-Bourbonnais HS); Sarah Wilson (Lake Zurich, Ill., HS).

CONTACT: Stew Salowitz, 309-556-3206