DEKALB, Ill. – Third-year Northern Illinois University head women's tennis coach Eric Burns added five players for next season as he announced his 2022-23 signing class on Tuesday.
 
"I am really proud of this class," NIU head coach Eric Burns said. "Natalie and I worked tirelessly throughout the process trying to identify the right people for this program to make sure we were getting the best for the future of this program. We absolutely feel we have the right people here."
 
Burns' class hails from three different states and two different countries. The Huskie head coach stayed in the States with McKenna Chudy of Ranch Santa Margarita, Calif., Lauren Littell from Carmel, Ind. and Glenview, Ill. native Jenna Horne. The Huskies also added a pair of players from Palma de Mallorca, Spain in Isabella Righi and Nataly Miroslavova Ninova who both attended IES Centre De Tecnificacio Esportiva IB.
 
"When players have to fight and compete for spots, daily, they have no choice but to work harder and keep improving. It is an ideal situation and one that can help us get to where we want to go in the MAC. I feel we got some real grinders here, people who want to come in and work on their games and this team for the common goal of winning a MAC championship. We couldn't be more excited about this group. We not only got solid athletes, we got solid dedicated students and good people."
 
McKenna Chudy (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Trabuco Hills HS)
• Rated a four-star recruit and ranked as high as 104 nationally in the 2022 class by tennisrecruiting.net.
• Ranked in the top 25 in singles and top 10 in doubles in USTA Southern California Section 16s
UTR high of 9.11.
• Sea View League singles champion three times and runner-up once
• Four-time team MVP
• Named Orange County Girls athlete of the week
• Named Athlete of the Month at Trabuco Hills High School in 2019
• Was undefeated junior and senior year of high school
• Two-time Top Players to Watch list in Orange County Register
• 2019 Second Team All-County (Orange County)
• JP Yamasaki L2 doubles champion
• Michigan L3 National singles 4th place and 3rd place in doubles
• Texas L3 National doubles finalist
• Las Vegas L3 National doubles finalist
• Honor roll student
• Science Honors student
• Coached by Vitali Vasileuski, Spartak Rahachou and Madison Crawford


 
Why Chudy chose NIU
"I chose NIU because of all the amazing opportunities it will give me and because of the team atmosphere. I feel like NIU is a school where I can reach my potential with my teammates under the guidance of Coach Burns and have an amazing experience."
 
Burns on Chudy
"We are so excited to finally sign McKenna. We've been talking to her for over a year and it was clear from the beginning that she wanted to be a Huskie and be a part of our building of this program. It was also clear that we needed her to be a part of that building. She is battle tested in the USTA SoCal section, which is one of the toughest if not the toughest, sections in the US. We feel we are getting another player who is dedicated to the sport and will work her hardest to reach her potential. We feel she has her best tennis ahead of her. I couldn't be more thrilled to have her join the team and we look forward to building her game."
 
Lauren Littell (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS)
• Rated a three-star recruit and ranked as high as 215 nationally in the 2022 class by tennisrecruiting.net
• Ranked No. 8 rated recruit in Indiana 2022 class by tennisrecruiting.net
• 2019 IHSAA Doubles State Champion and undefeated (20-0)
• Ranked No.1 in USTA Central Indiana district G18s
• USTA Midwest section ranking high of #19 in G18s
• USTA National doubles ranking high of #79 in G18s
• 2021 USTA L3 National doubles champion - Arizona
• 2021 USTA L4 National doubles champion- Michigan
• 2021 USTA L4 National doubles champion- Minnesota
• Coached by Bryan Hanan, Jamie Dieveney and Manny Edwards


 
Why Littell chose NIU
"I chose NIU because it checked everything on my list. It has the large, but small university feel, and I really enjoyed the team atmosphere. I like the idea of playing a large schedule and the educational programs that NIU has to offer."
 
Burns on Littell
"Lauren is someone who really stood out during this recruiting process as someone who we thought could be a great fit for our program. First of all, she loves to play. I believe this is a must if you are going to be successful in our program. She plays a huge USTA national schedule and this schedule should help prepare her for college tennis and the bigger schedules that we like to play. Secondly, she has huge upside and lots of weapons, especially on the doubles court, where she should battle immediately for a spot. She is definitely someone we feel can make a huge impact on this team and we are excited to see where she can go with her game."
 
Isabella Righi (Palma de Mallorca, Spain/IES Centre De Tecnificacio Esportiva IB)
• UTR high of 9.09
• 2021 Doubles champion ITF J5 Aviles
• 2021 Doubles runner-up ITF J5 Montemar and ITF J5 Porto
• 2021 Spanish National Championship runner-up (doubles)
• 2021 U18 Marca Jovenes promesa (Segovia) semifinalist (singles)
• 2020 U16 Mutua Madrid Open (Murcia) finalist (singles)
• 2019 U16 Marca Jovenes promesa (Barcelona) semifinalist (singles)
• 2019 U16 Marca Jovenes promesa (Valencia) semifinalist (singles)
• 2019 Mutua Madrid Open (Mallorca) finalist (singles)
• 2019 Tennis Europe U16 Vilas Cup (Mallorca) finalist (doubles)
• 2019 Tennis Europe U16 Vilas Cup (Mallorca) semifinalist (singles
• Coached by Nuria Llagostera, Juan Cardell and Ruben Roman


 
Why Righi chose NIU
"I chose NIU because it will allow me to take part in a team that will help me become an even better tennis player, meet new people and also major in my dream career."
 
Burns on Righi
"Isabella is someone we started talking to a little later in the recruiting process. We were recruiting her friend and doubles partner (Nataly Miroslavova) and I started seeing that they were having great doubles results and found her video. Once I saw the video and talked to her and a couple of her references, I knew she was a player we needed at NIU. She is very driven and serious about tennis and she plays a lot of tournaments. These are two things we are really looking for in our potential recruits. Her attacking style and doubles play should be a real benefit for our team. I believe she will only get better in our program playing with great players day in and day out. This should really help her game. On top of her tennis she is an excellent student academically. We are excited to work with her and take her game to another level."
 
Jenna Horne (Glenview, IL- Glenbrook South HS)
• Rated a three-star recruit and ranked as high as 299 nationally in the 2022 class by tennisrecruiting.net
• Ranked No.14 recruit in Illinois 2022 class by tennisrecruiting.net
• Ranked as high as No. 56 in the USTA Midwest section
• Named IHSA All-State three times
• Qualified for IHSA state championship all 4 years
• Two-time sectional champion
• Four-time All-conference selection (Central Suburban)
• Titan Pride award winner
• Winner of the Booster Club Academic Athletic Award all 4 years (3.0 GPA or above)
• Named team MVP in 2020
• Coached by Mark Bey


Why Horne chose NIU
"When I went to NIU to visit the team and see the campus I immediately fell in love with it. DeKalb is close to home and I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. But when I met the girls and really got to see the campus, I knew it was somewhere I wanted to be for the next four years."
 
Sutcliffe on Horne
"We started talking to Jenna a little late in the process, but in reviewing her results I felt she was a player who had potential and could be someone who could help our team. I had a chance to see her at the IHSA state tournament, on an awful day weather-wise, and getting to see her solidified my thinking about her ability. She has the ability to be a really solid player for us with some work. If she is willing to put in the extra work, I believe she can be very good. Jenna has worked with all the right people in juniors and is from a tennis family, but I believe what she needs most is more experience with top players day in and day out and a chance to grow. We are also really excited to sign an in-state player because that is one of our goals in recruiting is to start attracting the better players in Illinois. We are excited to start working with Jenna to help her improve and become a strong college player."
 
Nataly Miroslavova Ninova (Palma de Mallorca, Spain- IES Centre De Tecnificacio Esportiva IB)
• 2021 Doubles champion ITF J5 Aviles
• 2021 Doubles runner-up ITF J5 Montemar
• 2021 Spanish National Championship runner-up (doubles)
• Tennis Europe Vilas U16 champion (doubles)
• Tennis Europe Vilas U14 runner-up (doubles)
• 2021 semifinalist (singles) ITF J5 Montemar
• Marca Junior Cup U18 semifinalist
• Mutua Madrid Open U16 semifinalist
• Balearic Islands U18 runner-up
• Mallorca U18 champion
• UTR high 9.36
• Coached by Nuria Llagostera, Juan Cardell and Ruben Roman


 
Why Ninova chose NIU
"I personally chose NIU because they have an excellent business program and I think being a part of this team will help me improve my tennis level to a greater level than I have had before."
 
Burns on Ninova
"We are really excited to sign Nataly. Coach Sayer and I were both really impressed with her after talking to her the first time. She was very organized and seemed to be ready for college tennis. We took our time to learn as much about her game and results as possible and she was very patient and remained interested throughout the process. This gave us confidence that she was a great fit for NIU. She has a great game. While she is a little smaller, she hits a big ball and she has great doubles skills and results. She is also another player who manages to balance school and tennis while playing a huge junior schedule. This will serve her well in college tennis. She is a very strong student. I believe she can be a great asset for the team and that she wants to become the best player she can be at NIU which is exactly what we are looking for. We are looking forward to helping her reach her goals at NIU."
 
-NIU-