Dahlin Makes History as Big Ten Player, Freshman of the Year
4/23/2026 12:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Max Dahlin of the University of Michigan men's tennis team made Big Ten history on Thursday (April 23), becoming the first player to earn both Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year honors, the conference announced.
Dahlin was also a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection and was named to the All-Freshman Team. Senior Bjorn Swenson captured second-team All-Big Ten honors.
Dahlin posted an 11-0 record in the Big Ten this season and went 18-1 at No. 1 singles during the regular season. Combining the fall campaign, when he reached the NCAA quarterfinals and earned All-America honors, Dahlin boasts a 28-3 overall record. A native of Karlstad, Sweden, Dahlin owns the nation's longest active win streak (16 matches) and has yet to lose a tiebreak with a perfect 10-0 mark. Even more impressive, he holds a 13-2 record when playing ranked opponents. Dahlin is the highest-ranked singles player in the Big Ten and reached a career high of No. 6.
Dahlin and Swenson were a knockout doubles pair in the fall, going on a 7-1 run to the NCAA quarterfinals to earn All-America honors. The duo reached as high as No. 7 in the ITA doubles rankings.
Dahlin adds a 10-5 record at No. 1 doubles and is 6-3 when playing ranked pairs, with his highest-ranked win coming with Swenson against the No. 6-ranked pair of Henry Jefferson and Tanapatt Nirundorn of Florida in January. Swenson went 13-2 in fall doubles and 10-9 in dual doubles for a total record of 23-11.
Swenson headed into the Big Ten Tournament on a six-match win streak and reached a career-high ranking of No. 45 in singles play. He is 19-7 in singles overall, 11-3 at the No. 2 position, and went 7-1 in the Big Ten. A native of North Oaks, Minn., Swenson clinched six matches for Michigan this season, five against Big Ten competition, including a win over Michigan State, defeating No. 14-ranked Matthew Forbes, the highest-ranked opponent he has ever defeated.
Dahlin is the 10th Wolverine to be named Athlete of the Year, joining Ed Nagel (1987), Dan Goldberg (1988), MaliVai Washington (1989), David Kass (1992), Dan Brakus (1994), Peter Pusztai (1996), Evan King (2012, 2013), Andrew Fenty (2020) and Ondrej Styler (2023).
He is the sixth Wolverine to earn Freshman of the Year honors, joining Washington (1988), Brakus (1991), King (2010), Fenty (2019) and Gavin Young (2022).
2025-26 Big Ten Conference Men's Tennis Honors
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Max Dahlin, R-Fr., Michigan
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Max Dahlin, R-Fr., Michigan
COACH OF THE YEAR
Harry Jadun, Michigan State
ALL-BIG TEN, FIRST TEAM
Gabriel Debru, Fr., Illinois
Kenta Miyoshi, Sr., Illinois+
Max Dahlin, R-Fr., Michigan+
Ozan Baris, Sr., Michigan State
Matthew Forbes, So., Michigan State
Aristotelis Thanos, R-Sr., Michigan State+
Jack Anthrop, Sr., Ohio State
Aidan Kim, Jr., Ohio State+
Rudy Quan, So., UCLA
Emon van Loben Sels, R-Jr., UCLA
Branko Djuric, Fr., USC
Patrik Meszaros, So., Wisconsin
ALL-BIG TEN, SECOND TEAM
Bjorn Swenson, Sr., Michigan
Nikita Filin, So., Ohio State
Preston Stearns, R-Jr., Ohio State
Spencer Johnson, Jr., UCLA
Max Exsted, Fr., USC
Nathan Trouve, So., USC
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Gabriel Debru, Fr., Illinois
Adam Jilly, Fr., Illinois
Max Dahlin, R-Fr., Michigan+
Branko Djuric, Fr., USC
Max Exsted, Fr., USC
Ferdinand Kloesters, R-Fr., Wisconsin
SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Adam Jilly, Fr., Illinois
Matteo Antonescu, So., Indiana
Mert Oral, Sr., Michigan
David Saye, Sr., Michigan State
Henry Bilicic, Gr., Nebraska
Ethan Schiffman, Jr., Northwestern
JP Day, R-So., Ohio State
Russell Soohoo, Sr., Oregon
Michael Wright, Sr., Penn State
Henrik Villanger, Jr., Purdue
Emon van Loben Sels, R-Jr., UCLA
Nathan Trouve, So., USC
Rohan Belday, So., Washington
Michael Minasyan, Sr., Wisconsin
+ unanimous selections
