Ivonne Andrade Ovalle
	Position: Assistant Coach Alma Mater: Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois head women's tennis coach Ryun Ferrell added a familiar face to his coaching staff when former Huskie letterwinner Ivonne Andrade Ovalle was officially named assistant coach. Ovalle was a two-year, top-of-the-lineup starter for NIU in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

"I coached against Ivonne when she was a player (at NIU) and she certainly had a lot of success against us (at Drake)," said Ferrell. "She is a very good player, a great person and will be a huge asset to this program. I am so excited to have her here. She is going to help us fill a lot of holes that we have, and our players will respond to her coaching style."

After transferring from Texas Christian University in 2002, Ovalle earned a full scholarship at NIU, and became a standout in both the classroom and on the tennis court. She was given the Huskie Scholar Award, and also garnered the Academic Excellence Award from Verizon and the NIU Athletic Department. In 2005, she earned the Sportsmanship Award from the Mid-American Conference.

On the court, the San Luis, Potosi, Mexico, native was tabbed TCU's most improved player in 2002 prior to transferring to NIU. With the Huskies, Ovalle alternated between the No. 2 and No. 3 singles positions, and was a regular-member of NIU's top doubles tandem.

Prior to her college career, Ovalle captured four national doubles titles on the Mexican junior tour, and reached a national ranking of No. 2 in singles, and No. 1 in doubles.

The 25-year old Ovalle is married to former NIU men's tennis letterwinner Guillem Gali. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in business administration at NIU.