Northern Illinois University named Ryun Ferrell as the new head coach for Huskie women's tennis on July 5.

Ferrell, the Drake University Bulldogs head coach for the past seven years, is no stranger to conference titles, natioinally ranked players or NCAA tournament play. A native of Hiawatha, KS, the 33-year-old Ferrell will take over for the reins from Northern Illinois men's tennis coach Pontus Hiort, who had been doing double-duty for the past two years.

"We are thoroughly pleased to have an experienced coach like Ryun Ferrell leave a successful program to join our staff and we welcome him, his wife Deborah and son Brody to the Huskie family," NIU's Phillips said. "In addition to having been a part of conference championship and NCAA participating programs, his commitment to helping his student-athletes succeed academically, athletically, and socially, is a perfect fit with what we strive for at Northern Illinois. We believe Ryun's strong work ethic and commitment to all-around achievement will be reflected by the Huskies on and off the tennis court."

Under Ferrell's direction, Drake shared the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship in 2005 after having been the runner-up in 2001. The Bulldogs won the MVC crown outright in 2000 and earned an NCAA berth that year as well. In seven seasons at DU, he compiled an 81-76 overall standard and his Bulldogs were 51-19 in MVC play. He has coached two doubles teams to league titles and four individuals to conference championships. A total of seven players have earned All-MVC accolades during his tenure, including the tandem of junior Eveline Rusidianto and sophomore Irina Kalashnikova, who garnered First-Team All-MVC honors for 2006 as the No. 3 doubles tandem. Headlining his list of standouts is Cecily Dubusker, who was ranked as high as 83rd in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national singles ratings.

"I'm truly exicted about the direction NIU athletics is going and with Jim Phillips, it's clear that amazing things can be accomplished and I want to be a part of that," Ferrell said. "I certainly enjoyed my time at Drake and the young ladies I was fortunate to work with, but I'm eager to help the Huskies become even more successful.

"With Northern Illinois' outstanding academic reputation, I'm certain we'll be able to successfully recruit from anywhere, but the Midwest will be our home base. More than anything, we're looking for young ladies who are willing to work hard on and off the court. I like diversity in the team, but they would all be the type of women who take the initiative to make things happen in the classroom and as athletes. I'm a firm believer that anything can be accomplished with hard work," Ferrell added.

During his tenure with the Bulldogs, 10 different players have accounted for 17 MVC Scholar-Athlete awards with Rusidianto (First-Team) and Kalashnikova (Honorable Mention) being the most recent honorees. During the spring of 2006, Drake posted a 6-1 triumph over Northern Illinois when the two programs met, however, NIU owns a 3-2 edge in meetings with Ferrell's programs.

Prior to becoming a head coach at Drake, Ferrell served as an assistant coach for Wichita State University's women's program from 1997-99 where he helped the Shockers win the last of three MVC crowns within a four-year period. During his time in Wichita, Ferrell served as a teaching professional and intern at the Wichita Racquet Club, where he helped develop juniors for tournament play along with handling administrative work and producing revenue numbers for the management staff.

From 1996-97, Ferrell was the assistant men's and women's tennis coach at the College of New Jersey in Trenton, NJ, where he helped the women's crew claim its sixth consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference title and a national ranking of 16th. Ferrell also was a teaching professional at the Princeton Racquet Club, serving as the junior development training coordinator, training junior tennis players for tournament play.

His initial coaching effort came as a volunteer assistant women's tennis coach at the University of Kansas under former NIU head men's tennis coach Chuck Merzbacher, when the 1995-96 Jayhawks won their the last of four straight Big Eight Conference crowns en route to the NCAA Championships. That year's KU unit produced a stellar 21-7 record. He also spent the summers of 1995 and 1996 assisting with the Jayhawker Tennis Camps. He continued his association with Merzbacher by assisting him at The Ohio State University Tennis Camps from 1998 through 2000 followed by two summers of work with the University of Ntore Dame summer camp.

Ferrell attended Baker University in Baldwin City, KS, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in physical education in 1995. During his four-year tennis career, Ferrell lost just four singles matches and earned an NAIA tennis scholarship at Baker. In addition, he competed for BU's track program.

During his time at Drake, Ferrell has served as president for Llerref Enterprises, a Des Moines-based enterprise which promoted tennis cliniics and tournaments in central Iowa. In addition, his resume also includes serving as a teaching professional for the Des Moines Golf and Country Club plus the Waukonda Club. He is also an active member of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), United States Professiional Tennis Registry (USPTR), as well as the USTA Referee Association.

Ferrell, who also earned a master of science in education with an emphasis on sports administration, is married to the former Deborah Gladow of Emporia, KS. The couple has a son, Brody, born March 18, 2006.