Trio Earns Big Ten Honors
5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Sophomore Kate Fahey, sophomore Brienne Minor and junior Alex Najarian each earned All-Big Ten honors on Thursday (May 4) after helping the University of Michigan women's tennis team to its seventh Big Ten championship in the last eight seasons.
Fahey grabbed Big Ten honors for the second straight season after compiling another perfect mark in conference play. Fahey went 9-0 in Big Ten action as a sophomore after the same mark as a freshman for an 18-0 career ledger in conference play. Fahey is 31-6 in singles this season, going 12-1 at No. 1 and 7-1 at No. 2 for a 19-2 record in dual matches. Her 31 wins match her total from her freshman season, making her one of five Wolverines to have multiple 30-win seasons, joining Emina Bektas, Sarah Lee, Ronit Yurovsky and Denise Muresan on that list. Fahey is ranked No. 25 by the ITA and just received her first NCAA Singles Championship berth.
Minor picked up All-Big Ten accolades for the second straight season as well, going 25-6 in singles with an 18-5 mark (6-3 at No. 1, 12-2 at No. 2) in dual matches. Minor strung together a 9-2 record in Big Ten action as the only Wolverine to finish all 11 conference matches. She is ranked No. 24 by the ITA and has two wins over top-10 opponents this season. She, along with Fahey, grabbed a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship for her second straight appearance.
Najarian earned her second All-Big Ten honor after compiling a 6-0 record at No. 3 during Big Ten action. The junior clinched Michigan's 4-2 win over Northwestern (April 16), rallying from a 5-2 deficit in the third set for a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory. Najarian has a 24-11 overall record in singles, going 12-6 in dual matches. She joins Fahey on the doubles court to form the No. 9-ranked team, with the duo earning the Big Ten's automatic berth to the NCAA Doubles Championship.
Senior Annie Wierda was Michigan's sportsmanship honoree. Wierda went 2-2 in dual matches in singles and helped clinch Michigan's doubles point against Northwestern with a 7-6 (5) win at No. 3 with junior Mira Ruder-Hook.
U-M is the No. 10 seed for the upcoming NCAA Tournament and will host Kentucky, Dartmouth and Youngstown State at the Varsity Tennis Center (May 12-13).
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
