EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern junior Sam Shropshire was named the Big Ten men's tennis athlete of the week, the conference announced Tuesday.
 
Shropshire played a major part in Northwestern's monumental win over No. 8 Illinois last Saturday, beating the No. 8 ranked singles player in the country to help the Wildcats secure their first win over the Illini since 1997.
 
He defeated his first top-10 opponent of the season, and his sixth ranked foe overall, with a three-set win at No. 2 over Jared Hiltzik. Shropshire bounced back after dropping the first set and won the final two, including a 7-5 win in the final frame. The win was his third in a row and his sixth overall in the dual season.
 
Shropshire also partnered with Konrad Zieba for the clinching point in doubles play. The duo beat Aron Hiltzik and Aleks Vukic at the No. 2 spot by a 6-4 score to give Northwestern the first point of the match.
 
The win over the Illini gave Chicago's Big Ten Team its best start ever to a season, and at 14-1, the team is ranked No. 7 in the country in the newest edition of the ITA poll, released earlier Tuesday.
 
The award is the second in as many seasons for Shropshire. He won athlete of the week honors on March 10 of last season.
 

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