Season Review: 2015-16 Michigan Women's Tennis
6/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
June 22, 2016
• Captain: Ronit Yurovsky
• Record: 23-7 overall, 10-1 Big Ten Conference (T-2nd place)
• Big Ten Tournament: Runner-up
• NCAA Tournament: Quarterfinals
The University of Michigan women's tennis team finished the 2016 campaign with a 23-7 record after making its first-ever appearance in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. It was the seventh consecutive 20-win season for the Wolverines and ninth-year head coach Ronni Bernstein. Senior Ronit Yurovsky led the charge for the Wolverines from the top spot in the lineup with a 19-5 dual-match mark as U-M combined for a 63-16 record at the top three singles spots. Michigan picked up four All-America honors, the most in school history after having two singles participants and a doubles team compete in the NCAA Individual Championships. The Wolverines were among the nation's best all season long and finished as the No. 11-ranked team.
Team Highlights
• Michigan made its first-ever appearance in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, falling to eventual national champion Stanford. U-M held a match point in the deciding match, but Stanford came back to force and win a tiebreaker in the 4-3 win.
• The Wolverines went 10-1 in Big Ten action, finishing in a tie for second place. It was U-M's seventh straight conference slate with at least 10 wins. Michigan reached the championship match of the Big Ten Tournament for the 12th straight season.
• Michigan was ranked in the top 15 by the ITA all season long, coming in as high as No. 3 after knocking off the No. 2-ranked team in the county. U-M defeated the second-ranked Tarheels of North Carolina on Feb. 20, tying the school record for the highest-ranked opponent beat.
• Head coach Ronni Bernstein won her 200th match at Michigan in U-M's NCAA Round of 16 win over Miami, which also happened to be her alma mater. Bernstein is only the second coach in program history to record 200 wins in Ann Arbor.
• The Wolverines rallied from a 3-0 deficit for the first time under Bernstein in a 4-3 win at No. 8 Duke on April 6. Michigan got singles wins from Kate Fahey, Brienne Minor, Alex Najarian and Ronit Yurovsky. Yurovsky was the deciding match, winning a second-set tiebreaker to send the No. 1 match to a third. The Wolverine captain held on for a 6-3 third-set victory, sealing the come-from-behind win.
Individual Highlights
• Senior Ronit Yurovsky capped her stellar career at Michigan ranked third all-time in singles wins with 117. She earned the first All-America honors of her career after finishing the season ranked 12th, the second-highest season-ending ranking in school history. She went 19-5 in dual matches, including a perfect 4-0 mark at No. 1 during Michigan's NCAA Tournament run.
• Freshman Brienne Minor became the second Wolverine in school history to earn both All-America honors in singles and doubles after finishing the season ranked No. 19 in singles and No. 7 in doubles with Mira Ruder-Hook. Minor won the ITA Midwest Regional Singles Championship this past fall and finished with a team-high 36 wins. She participated in both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships.
• Freshman Kate Fahey completed her freshman season ranked No. 61 by the ITA in singles after a 31-8 season, highlighted by a 21-3 dual-match record. Fahey played exclusively at No. 2 (7-1) and No. 3 (14-2) throughout singles action and did not drop a match during a 15-match winning streak from Feb. 7 through April 22.
• Sophomore Mira Ruder-Hook led Michigan with 31 doubles wins, combining with Minor for All-America honors after finishing ranked No. 7. She also put together a 19-8 singles record in dual matches, playing at Nos. 3-5.
Honors and Awards
Ronit
Yurovsky
Brienne
Minor
Kate
Fahey
Mira
Ruder-Hook
Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)
All-America: Ronit Yurovsky (singles), Brienne Minor (singles/doubles), Mira Ruder-Hook (doubles)
Midwest Senior Player of the Year: Ronit Yurovsky
Big Ten Conference
All-Big Ten First Team: Ronit Yurovsky, Kate Fahey, Brienne Minor
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award: Ronit Yurovsky
University of Michigan
Female Sportsmanship Honoree: Ronit Yurovsky
Big Ten Athlete of the Week
Ronit Yurovsky (Jan. 26)
Kate Fahey (Feb. 23)
Academic All-Big Ten
Alex Najarian, So., Psychology
Sara Remynse, Jr., Sociology
Mira Ruder-Hook, So., Undeclared
Ronit Yurovsky, Sr., Sport Management
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
Players Mentioned
