July 15, 2009

DEKALB, Ill. - After one season leading the Northern Illinois men's tennis program, head coach Pawel Gajdzik accepted the same position at Purdue Wednesday.

"In his one year with NIU, Pawel showed that our tennis program is capable of winning our league," said Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Jeff Compher. "Our focus is on Developing a Championship Experience for our student-athletes and we will work hard to hire a new coach who shares that vision. We wish Pawel well in his newest endeavor at Purdue."

After being picked fifth in the preseason Mid-American Conference poll, Gajdzik guided NIU (9-10, 3-2 MAC) to a three-way tie for second-place in the league, and a No. 3 seed in the postseason MAC Tournament. The Huskies advanced to the semifinals before being eliminated by second-seeded Toledo.

Gajdzik was grateful to NIU for providing him his first NCAA Division I coaching opportunity.

"The opportunity at Purdue provided my wife and me too many compelling advantages for us to pass up," Gajdzik said. "That being said, this was a very difficult decision. I really believe the Northern Illinois tennis program is on-the-rise, and is now in a position to compete for a MAC championship. We were happy in DeKalb, and to be a part of the athletics department.

"I thoroughly enjoyed watching our players grow last season, on-and-off the court, and wish them luck going forward. I also want to thank Director of Athletics Jeff Compher and his staff for giving me the opportunity at NIU. I will always be appreciative of that."

The Huskies had three players named to the 2009 All-MAC teams, including freshman Pawel Poziomski, who was named the league's Newcomer of the Year. Classmate Jurica Grubisic nabbed first-team All-MAC honors, while junior Javier Bernabe had a breakout season, and was a second-team all-conference honoree.

In his one year at NIU, Gajdzik made significant in-roads on the recruiting trail. His five-member 2009 recruiting class was tabbed the No. 1 mid-major class in the country, and among the top-15 overall, according to TennisRecruiting.net.

The Huskies are slated to return four starters next season, including Poziomski and Grubisic, their top-two singles players.