Eastern Illinois University Athletics

EIU (2008-09): Earned Second-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors posting a 4-4 conference record and finished the season 9-14 overall playing every match at No. 1 singles. Jeff went a combined 12-8 playing No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. He went 1-2 with Vuk Milicevic, 4-2 with Jamie Firth and 7-4 with Matyas Hilgert... 

EIU (2007-08): Voted First Team All-OVC as a sophomore, after going 13-8 overall at No. 1 and No. 2 singles... went 12-7 at the top of the lineup... finished with a 7-2 singles mark in league play... joined Vuk Milicevic at No. 3 doubles, earning an 8-6 overall record and 5-2 OVC tally... also played doubles with Robert Stedman and Benn Marler at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively... won four consecutive OVC singles matchups in the middle of the spring season.... 

EIU (2006-07): Posted the most wins on men’s team as a true freshman going 15-5 on the season... played primarily at No. 5 singles going 12-2 with a seven match win streak during the latter part of the season... also went 3-3 at No. 4 singles... played limited doubles action going 3-2 in the No. 3 slot.... 

HIGH SCHOOL: Prepped for his dad, Jack Rutherford, at the Model Lab HS in Richmond, Kentucky where he earned four varsity letters… also lettered in cross country and soccer… team captain… KHSAA All-State in 2006… 2006 State semifinalist… three-time Regional Champion, reaching Regional final in other season… KHSAA Sportsmanship Award in 2006…. played three years of USTA Junior Tennis… National Honor Society.... 

PERSONAL: Business management major... son of Jack & Pat Rutherford… athlete he most admires is Tiger Woods because “he is an athlete who defied all odds to follow his dreams”.... 

FUN STUFF: ‘J-Ruth’ chose to attend EIU, “because of the good people, great atmosphere, and it’s an excellent school”... has a hidden talent of break dancing... currently drives a GMC Envoy... since coming to EIU he has learned “dedication and concentration”... besides tennis, he enjoys listening to music, hanging with friends, playing soccer, basketball, ice hockey and table tennis... his advice for a younger athlete is “don’t settle for anything subpar, but always continue to improve your talents... which will help you off the court, too”... if he could bring anything from his hometown to EIU it would be “Sonny’s BBQ”... two of his favorite quotes are “go big or go home” and “life is short -- live it up while you can”... a personal goal he is striving to achieve while here at EIU is “to be the best person I can be whether it is on or off the court”.... 

BLACKBURN SAYS: “Jeff has been a standout player for us throughout his career at EIU... he has spent the past two seasons playing the number one position and has proven himself to be among the top players in the league... his strong work ethic and consistently high level of play in matches has earned him the respect of his teammates, coaches, and peers in the OVC and Midwest... I’m excited about what he has a chance to accomplish in his senior year.”