Wolverines to Open Fall Play at Spartan Invitational
9/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 21, 2011
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team kicks off the fall portion of the schedule this weekend (Fri-Sun., Sept. 23-25) at the Spartan Invitational at the MSU Outdoor Tennis Courts in East Lansing, Mich. Four Wolverines will be making the trip north in the first of Michigan's six fall tournaments. Joining U-M at Michigan State is Purdue, Marquette, Louisville, UCI, Akron, IPFW and the host Spartans.
2011 Michigan Women's Tennis Fall Schedule
| Date | Tournament | Site |
| Fri-Sun, Sept. 23-25 | Spartan Invitational | East Lansing, Mich. |
| Tue-Sun, Oct. 4-9 | ITA All-American Championships | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Fri-Sun, Oct. 14-16 | Georgia Invitational | Athens, Ga. |
| Thu-Tue, Oct. 20-25 | ITA Midwest Regional Championships | Columbus, Ohio |
| Thu-Sun, Nov. 3-6 | ITA National Intercollegiate Indoors | Flushing, N.Y. |
| Fri-Sun, Nov. 4-6 | ASU Thunderbird | Tempe, Ariz. |
Ranked Wolverines -- Sophomore Sam Critser (Mountain View, Calif./Mountain View HS) enters the fall season with a No. 48 national singles ranking, while sophomore Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan Prep), the 2011 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, holds the No. 62 preseason spot. Freshman Emina Bektas (Indianapolis, Ind./New Braunfels HS) also received recognition in the preseason ITA rankings, earning the No. 9 position among the national freshman/newcomer listing. [ Full ITA Rankings ]
A Look Back -- The Wolverines won their second consecutive Big Ten championship in 2011, finishing the season with a 24-5 record and 10-0 mark in Big Ten action. U-M reached the round of 16 in the NCAA Championships before falling to No. 7 Miami (Fla.). Denise Muresan became the first Wolverine to earn back-to-back ITA All-America singles honors and the first to earn singles and doubles accolades in the same season. She shared doubles All-America honors with sophomore Brooke Bolender. Muresan was named Big Ten Player of the Year, sophomore Brooke Bolender won Freshman of the Year and Ronni Bernstein was Coach of the Year. [ 2010-11 Statistics ]
Making Their Debut -- Freshmen Kristen Dodge (Barrington, Ill./Barrington HS) and Sarah Lee (Los Angeles, Calif./Campbell Hall School) will both make their debut in the Maize and Blue this weekend at the Spartan Invitational, while freshman Emina Bektas will debut at next week's ITA All-American Championships.
Coaching Staff -- Head coach Ronni Bernstein enters her fifth year in Ann Arbor, compiling an 85-23 overall record and 38-2 Big Ten mark in her first four years. The Wolverines have strung together the best two-year span in program history during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, going 24-5 in both campaigns while winning two Big Ten championships. For her efforts, Bernstein has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year and ITA Midwest Region Coach of the Year in both seasons. Teryn Ashley-Fitch is in her sixth year at Michigan and was promoted to associate head coach last summer after earning ITA Midwest Assistant Coach of the Year honors in 2010.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
