Critser, Bolender Earn ITA Preseason Rankings
9/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 12, 2011
SKILLMAN, N.J. -- Sophomores Sam Critser (Mountain View, Calif./Mountain View HS) and Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan Prep) of the University of Michigan women's tennis team will open the season as the No. 48- and No. 62-ranked singles player in the nation, respectively, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Critser is the second-highest ranked player in the Big Ten Conference behind Indiana's Leslie Hureau (No. 39).
Critser ended the 2010-11 season with the No. 70 national singles ranking after registering a 31-12 overall mark, including a 17-8 dual record, in an impressive freshman campaign. She went 9-1 in Big Ten duals en route to All-Big Ten selection. Among her notable wins from 2010-11, Critser defeated Southern California's Danielle Lao (57-, 6-2, 6-4) and Tennessee's Brynn Boren (7-6, 7-5).
Bolender, who finished the 2010-11 season as the No. 93-ranked singles player, was named 2011 Big Ten Freshman of the Year after posting an undefeated 10-0 conference record. She set Michigan's single-season wins record with a 35-9 overall mark, including a 23-3 dual record. Bolender also earned ITA All-America honors in doubles after teaming with Denise Muresan for a 30-10 record.
Freshman Emina Bektas (Indianapolis, Ind./New Braunfels HS) also received recognition in the preseason ITA rankings, earning the No. 9 spot among the national freshman/newcomer listing.
In addition to the release of the preseason national rankings, the ITA office announced that Critser, Bolender and Bektas have been selected to the 56-player singles qualifying field for the 2011 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships. Bolender and Bektas were also selected to the 28-team qualifying doubles draw and will compete for one of five spots into the 20-team main draw.
The Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, which will be held Tuesday through Sunday, Oct. 4-9, at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., are the first of three national championships during the 2010-11 women's collegiate tennis season, with the other two being the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, to be played Nov. 3-6, and the NCAA Championships, to be held May 17-28.
U-M begins the fall season at the Spartan Invitational, scheduled for Sept. 23-25, at the MSU Outdoor Tennis Courts in East Lansing, Mich. Purdue, Marquette, Louisville, UCI, Akron, IPFW and host Michigan State will compete alongside the Wolverines at the event.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
