Bektas Repeats as Big Ten Athlete of the Year
4/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Senior Emina Bektas of the University of Michigan women's tennis team was the unanimous pick for Big Ten Tennis Athlete of the Year while senior Sarah Lee, junior Ronit Yurovsky and freshman Alex Najarian joined Bektas on the All-Big Ten team announced by the conference on Thursday (April 30) afternoon.
Bektas is the second player in U-M history to repeat as Big Ten Athlete of the Year, joining Denise Muresan who accomplished the feat in 2009-10 and 2010-11. The senior has a 31-6 overall record on the singles court, including a 21-3 dual-match mark. Bektas ran through the Big Ten slate with a 10-0 mark at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, dropping just three sets. With a 3-0 record during this year's Big Ten Tournament, Bektas capped a perfect 10-0 career at the No. 1 spot during the tournament throughout her career. She is currently ranked No. 28 by the ITA in singles and has won 15 straight matches. Bektas has earned All-Big Ten honors in each of her four seasons, becoming the fourth Wolverine in school history to have four first-team honors.
Yurovsky earned Big Ten honors for the third straight season after a 9-1 Big Ten campaign at No. 1 and No. 2. She went 20-2 in dual matches this season, bringing her overall record to 32-8. Yurovsky went 1-0 at the Big Ten Tournament, winning her championship match against Ohio State to help Michigan to the tournament title. In conference play, she dropped just two sets in 11 matches. Yurovsky is currently ranked No. 33 by the ITA and received her third straight NCAA singles berth yesterday (April 29). Yurovsky was also Michigan's Sportsmanship honoree.
Lee picked up All-Big Ten honors for the fourth season, grabbing another first-team nod after a pair of second-team selections in her first two years. Lee went 11-0 during the Big Ten slate, playing at No. 3 and No. 4. She clinched Michigan's Big Ten Tournament title with a straight-set win at No. 4, putting the finishing touches on a 3-0 singles weekend. She is currently ranked No. 117 by the ITA with a 33-9 overall singles mark. She has won 17 straight matches, the longest current streak on the team.
Najarian grabbed a spot on the All-Big Ten team after a 10-0 conference season at No. 3 and No. 4. Najarian clinched Michigan's 6-1 win at Ohio State (April 19) to lock up a share of the Big Ten title earlier this season and went 1-0 at the Big Ten Tournament. Najarian teamed with Bektas on the doubles court to go 10-1 at the No. 1 spot during Big Ten play. The duo recently earned a berth to the NCAA Doubles Championship and is ranked No. 19 with a 30-7 overall record.
The Wolverines went 11-0 in the Big Ten this season en route to their sixth straight championship. Michigan dispatched of No. 18 Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament championship match, 4-0, to sweep the conference titles. Michigan had four players go undefeated in Big Ten play in Bektas (10-0), Lee (11-0), Najarian (10-0) and sophomore Sara Remynse (10-0). U-M surrendered just six points during the conference slate, outscoring Big Ten opponents, 68-6.
Michigan (24-3) received the No. 11 seed for the upcoming NCAA Tournament and will host the first and second rounds of the tournament May 8-9 at the Varsity Tennis Center. Miami (Ohio) (19-6), Kentucky (15-12) and DePaul (21-4) will join Michigan at the VTC. DePaul and Kentucky will start things off on Friday, May 8, playing at 10 a.m. Michigan will follow against Miami at 1 p.m. The winners will play on Saturday, May 9, at 1 p.m. to advance to the third round. The remainder of the NCAA Tournament will be held at Baylor University. [ NCAA Regional Page ]
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Athlete of the Year: EMINA BEKTAS, Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Erin Larner, Northwestern
Coach of the Year: Melissa Schaub, Ohio State
All-Big Ten Team
Emina Bektas, Michigan
Sarah Lee, Michigan
Alex Najarian, Michigan
Ronit Yurovsky, Michigan
Alexis Casati, Illinois
Melissa Kopinski, Illinois
Katie Klyczek, Indiana
Erin Faulkner, Michigan State
Alicia Barnett, Northwestern
Erin Larner, Northwestern
Gabriella De Santis, Ohio State
Anna Sanford, Ohio State
Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum, Purdue
Lauren Chypyha, Wisconsin
Sportsmanship Award Winners
Ronit Yurovsky, Michigan
Melissa Kopinski, Illinois
Katie Klyczek, Indiana
Morven McCulloch, Iowa
Alexandra Stanova, Maryland
Athena Trouillot, Michigan State
Caroline Ryba, Minnesota
Maggy Lehmicke, Nebraska
Erin Larner, Northwestern
Grâinne O'Neill, Ohio State
Katia Blik, Penn State
Krisztina Kapitany, Purdue
Lindsay Balsamo, Rutgers
Ekaterina Stepanova, Wisconsin
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
