MONMOUTH, Ill. - It’s a safe bet to say that Shelia Ivey will be among the best women’s tennis players at Monmouth College in the past 10 years.

Coach Dennis Mann is counting on Ivey, a recent Bremen High School graduate, to lead the resurgence of women’s tennis at Monmouth. The Fighting Scots have not had a varsity team since the fall of 1991, but the school is re-committing to the sport, constructing six new courts this summer. Four indoor courts will be part of the new $21 million Huff Athletic Center. Ground was broken at the future site of the facility on June 8, and the Huff Center is expected to be completed in the fall of 2003.

“We feel very fortunate to get a player of Shelia’s caliber in our first recruiting season,” said Mann. “We’re just getting our program started, and she’ll be an excellent person to be a team leader for us.”

Ivey was the captain and MVP of Bremen’s team and also served as the manager for the boys tennis team. Named her school’s Outstanding Senior Math Student, Ivey plans to pursue a secondary education degree and become a high school math teacher.

She is the daughter of James and Donna Ivey of Midlothian.