Northwestern University Athletics
NU Announces Hilton Garden Inn Athletes of the Week
9/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | General
Sept. 13, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Wildcat seniors Matt Eliason (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East) of the men's soccer team and Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Sycamore) of the volleyball team have been named Northwestern's Hilton Garden Inn Athletes of the Week for their performances over the weekend.
Johnson played an integral role in Northwestern's thrilling 3-2 win over 14th-ranked Tennessee as NU rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the match for the first time since 2005. Johnson recorded back-to-back kills with the fourth set tied at 24 to force a decisive fifth set, where the Wildcats held off the Vols 15-11. Johnson was responsible for the game-winning kill, finishing with 12 on the day. Johnson did not let up the rest of the weekend, leading NU with 12 kills in a 3-0 victory over Pittsburgh and again with 14 against Ohio as the 'Cats claimed the Ohio Tournament Title.
With his penalty kick goal in the 46th minute against Oregon State, Eliason became Northwestern men's soccer's all-time leading scorer with 31 career goals. Eliason's tally, which came in a match in which three Wildcats scored for the first time in their respective careers, helped NU to a 4-1 victory over the previously unbeaten Beavers.
This week's Community Service Athlete of the Week is junior Dan Persa (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) of the football team. Persa and the entire football team hosted members of the Special Spectators group, which is a Chicago-based non-profit with the mission of "creating magical days for seriously ill children and their families at college sporting events across the United States." In the eighth season of Northwestern's association with Special Spectators, the group enjoyed a pregame tailgate with NU football alum Jeff Roehl, a visit with Dave Eanet in the WGN radio booth, pictures in the Championship Circle and postgame autographs with Pat Fitzgerald and the entire team.
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