Season Review: 2023-24 Michigan Men's Tennis

• Record: 17-13; 8-1 Big Ten Conference (2nd)
• Big Ten Tournament: Runner-up
• NCAA Tournament: Second round

The University of Michigan men's tennis team made its eighth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament after finishing second in the Big Ten. The Wolverines competed in their third consecutive Big Ten Tournament championship match, advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championship and qualified individuals for both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships.

Team Highlights

• Michigan hosted the ITA Kick-Off for the second consecutive season and topped Nevada 4-0 and then-No. 9 ranked Stanford 4-3 to advance to the ITA National Indoor Championship. It was the program's third win over the Cardinal in the series.

• The Wolverines posted an 8-1 record in the Big Ten, winning seven straight matches to start the conference schedule. Michigan defeated then-No. 19 ranked Illinois on the road in March before a huge 5-2 win over No. 18 Michigan State in the final regular-season match of the season at a packed Varsity Tennis Center. Both teams entered the match with a lone loss, determining seeding as well as Michigan putting a 21-match win streak against the Spartans on the line.

• The Wolverines went 10-2 at the VTC this season, including a 5-0 record against Big Ten foes.

• Michigan faced MSU again in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament the following week. After dropping the doubles point, the Wolverines rallied to win four singles matches to take the match 4-3 to advance to the title tilt.

• For the third straight season, Michigan was pitted against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship match. The Buckeyes, ranked No. 1 throughout most of the season, took the title with a 4-1 win.

• The Wolverines earned their 33rd bid to the NCAA Tournament and traveled to New York for the first and second rounds. Michigan topped Binghamton 4-0 in the first round before a heartbreaking 4-2 loss to No. 8 seed Columbia in the second round.

• Michigan was ranked No. 25 in the final ITA poll of the season, and reached as high as No. 13 during the season.

Individual Highlights

• Gavin Young began his fall season with an impressive run through the ITA All-American Championships as he defeated No. 58 Justin Schlageter (Oklahoma), No. 12 JJ Tracy (Ohio State), No. 22 Peter Makk (USC) and No. 2 Chris Rodesch (Virginia) before falling to No. 4 Murphy Cassone (Arizona State) in the semifinal. Qualiyfing for the ITA Fall Nationals, Young took down another ranked opponent, No. 15 Michael Zheng (Columbia) before bowing out in the second round to No. 81 Jack Anthrop (Ohio State).

• Bjorn Swenson made runs in singles and doubles at the 2023 Big Ten Singles and Doubles Championship in November. He reached the singles semifinals and was the doubles runner-up with partner Alex Cairo.

• Young was named first team All-Big Ten, his third career all-conference honor.

• Young qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship for the second straight season. He lost in three sets in the first round to Finn Murgett (Auburn). He finished his season 18-14 overall, with a 12-9 dual record and a 5-1 Big Ten mark. He went 12-12 against ranked opponents, and had an eight-match win streak during the season. Young was ranked No. 22 in the final singles rankings and reached as high as No. 9 during the season.

• Jacob Bickersteth and Young qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship. It was Bickersteth's first time qualifying, and the second time for Young, who earned All-America honors with former partner Andrew Fenty in 2023. Bickersteth and Young went 12-8 during the season with four wins over ranked foes and posted a 7-1 record in the conference. The pair had a six-match win streak during the season. Their season ended in the first round in a three-set match against a duo from UC Santa Barbara. The pair finished No. 30 in the final ITA rankings and were ranked as high as No. 17 this season.

• Nicholas Steiglehner was the winningest member of the squad in singles, with a 22-12 record. He finished the season on a nine-match win streak after a 15-6 dual mark, including a 6-1 mark in the Big Ten.

• Will Cooksey and Patorn Hanchaikul finished with winning records in dual singles as Cooksey went 14-9 and Hanchaikul 12-5. The pair, along with Bickersteth, each found themselves ranked in singles during the season with Bickersteth finishing at No. 106 in the final rankings.

• A number of Wolverines earned academic honors. Hanchaikul and Steiglehner were named CSC Academic All-District, while the pair along with Swenson, Mert Oral and Ehrenschneider captured ITA Scholar-Athlete distinctions. Taking home Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors were Bickersteth, Ehrenschneider, Hanchaikul, Oral, Steiglehner, Swenson and Young. The team also received its fifth straight ITA All-Academic Team honor.

Honors and Awards

Jacob
Bickersteth

Patorn
Hanchaikul

Mert
Oral

Bjorn
Swenson

Nicholas
Steiglehner

Gavin
Young

Big Ten Conference
All-Big Ten (First Team): Gavin Young
Sportsmanship Award: Mert Oral
Big Ten Player of the Week: Gavin Young (March 6), Jacob Bickersteth (April 10)

Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
Patorn Hanchaikul, Jr., Industrial & Operations Engineering
Mert Oral, So., Biomedical Engineering
Nicholas Steiglehner, So., Business Administration

Academic All-Big Ten
Jacob Bickersteth, Sr., English BA
Nino Ehrenschneider, Sr., Environment BA
Patorn Hanchaikul, Jr., Industrial & Operational Engineering BSE
Mert Oral, So., Biomedical Engineering BSE
Nicholas Steiglehner, So., Business Administration BBA
Bjorn Swenson, So., Sport Management BA
Gavin Young, Sr., Economics BA