Hua, Knight Garner ITA All-America Honors
6/1/2018 11:11:00 AM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan men's tennis seniors Runhao Hua and Alex Knight were both named Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Americans following the 2018 NCAA Individual Championships held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hua and Knight become the 23rd and 24th All-Americans in the program's history.
Hua, who is the first ITA All-American from mainland China, won two matches to reach the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship. He concluded his memorable senior season with a 25-8 record while ending his career in the maize and blue with a 76-33 mark. A first team All-Big Ten Conference honoree, Hua became the 27th member of the "20-20 club" in Michigan men's tennis history for winning at least 20 singles and doubles matches in a season. Hua finished the season with a 23-11 mark in doubles play and concluded his career with a 75-35 doubles record.
Knight, a No. 9-16 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship, was a unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection and enjoyed a breakout senior season for the Maize and Blue. The Miami Shores, Florida, native went 25-7 in singles play, where he primarily played at the No. 1 spot in the lineup, and enjoyed similar success in doubles with a 25-10 record. His 25 doubles victories rank tied for fifth in program history and the most accumulated in a season since 2009 (Chris Madden, 25). Knight was ranked nationally by the ITA over the entire season, reaching as high as third on Feb. 7.
Knight also became just the second player in Michigan men's tennis history to accumulate at least 25 singles and doubles wins in one season, while being the 10th player in program history to be a part of the "20-20 club" for consecutive seasons. In his career, Knight accumulated a 79-44 record in singles play and a 72-21 mark in doubles action.
The duo are the first Wolverines to be named All-America since Evan King did so three years in row (2011-13). Michigan's most recent All-America honorees prior to that were Brian Hung and Matko Maravic in 2007.
Michigan, which went 22-6 and reached the round of 16 in the NCAA team event, finished 14th in the final ITA ranking. Knight (No. 19) and Hua (No. 32) were both listed in the final singles ranking as well as finishing the season ranked No. 33 in doubles. Connor Johnston and Myles Schalet also made the final doubles list, coming in at No. 64.
Players Mentioned
