It all started with an observation of a neighbor slapping tennis balls against his garage.

Years later, NIU sophomore tennis player Emily Rogers would become a highly accomplished player when initially she thought the game of tennis looked simply “fun” at a young age.

“I made my parents get me a racket and I started hitting and then I started taking lessons,” said Rogers, who at the end of her career at Century High School in Rochester, Minn., had 156 wins, which still stands today as a record.

Favorably, success has always occurred in Rogers’ tennis career. It’s been almost expected that she goes out and dominates the opposition consistently.

She never lost a match in her tenure on her high school varsity squad.

She credited the numerous coaches she’s had through the years as supportive facets of her life.
“I loved every coach that I’ve ever had.” Rogers said. “Going out and playing and having them there, it’s a positive and it helps me a lot.”

On two separate occasions, she had two five-game winning streaks and last season the Minnesota native was named MVP after posting a 17-7 record in singles matches.

Rogers didn’t even know it until the end of the season when she glanced on the NIU athletics Web site.

Not jumping ahead of herself, Rogers focuses on what’s occurring on the court versus getting caught up in her accomplishments.

“I don’t like to think about it at all while I’m playing,” Rogers said.

She said there is chemistry and a sense of camaraderie present on the current squad.
“We are all pretty close and it’s a lot fun, which makes it more exciting,” Rogers said.

For this season, she feels if the team gets off to a hot start, success will spread rapidly and the Huskies will be competing at a high level.

“If we keep working hard and take advantage of our fall season then we can be really good this year and we can excel in the conference,” Rogers said. “I think things are looking up for us.”

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