DeKALB, Ill. – Four members of the Mid-American Conference West Division champion Northern Illinois University women's tennis team were named to the 2025 Academic All-MAC Team on Friday.
 
Senior Reagan Welch (Greenbrier, Tenn.), who earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from NIU last weekend, and juniors Jenna Horne (Glenview, Illinois), Nataly Ninova (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) and Isabella Righi (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) all earned Academic All-MAC recognition. It was the third Academic All-MAC honor for Welch, while Righi and Horne collected the award for the second time.
 
To qualify, individuals must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.20 and have participated in at least 50 percent of the scheduled matches. First-year students and first-year transfers are not eligible.
 
Welch, who earned CSC Academic All-District honors earlier this week, finished her undergraduate career with a perfect 4.0 GPA in psychology alongside a minor in counseling.  Her 148 career combined singles and doubles victories rank second at NIU all-time. This season, she compiled a 17-6 mark in doubles on the to lead NIU and posted an 8-2 record in 10 singles matches.
 
Righi competed in 25 doubles and 16 singles matches for NIU as a junior, playing No. 2 doubles and at No. 5 singles. She also surpassed the 100-win mark for her NIU career with 108. The junior is majoring in biomedical engineering with a minor in applied mathematics where she has posted a 3.865 GPA.
 
Horne, who carries a 3.317 GPA in finance, finished her junior season with 23 doubles victories and formed NIU's winningest doubles pair with Welch as the duo recorded a 15-6 record in dual matches.
 
Ninova broke the NIU school record for singles wins in a season as junior with 32, including 23 during the Huskies' dual match season. She ranks fifth on NIU's all-time singles wins list and is sixth in combined career wins.
 
All four student-athletes contributed toward the Huskies' historic season, which culminated in an appearance at the NIT Championships, the first national postseason tournament for NIU as a NCAA program. The Huskies won a school record 22 matches, claimed the Mid-American Conference West Division crown for the first time in school history, and played in the MAC Championship match for the first time.
 
2025 NIU Academic All-MAC Student-Athletes
Jenna Horne, Junior, Finance, 3.317
Nataly Ninova, Junior, Manufacturing Engineering Tech, 3.258
Isabella Righi, Junior, Biomedical Engineering, 3.865
Reagan Welch, Senior, Psychology, 4.0
 
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