Bolender, Bernstein Honored with ITA Midwest Awards
5/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 12, 2011
SKILLMAN, N.J. -- After the Wolverines won their second consecutive Big Ten championship in 2011, freshman Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan) and head coach Ronni Bernstein of the University of Michigan women's tennis team earned Midwest Region Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively, from Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Thursday (May 12).
Bolender, the 2011 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, becomes the first Wolverine to win the regional award since Elizabeth Exon (2004-07) in 2004. Bolender is currently ranked No. 81 by the ITA and has a 35-8 singles record, setting a new Michigan record for most singles victories in a season. In dual matches, the freshman carries a 23-2 record and went 10-0 during Big Ten action. She pairs with senior Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) to form the No. 8-ranked doubles tandem in the country. The duo has a 21-3 dual-match record, including an 18-3 mark at the top of the lineup, and received a No. 5-8 seed for the 2011 NCAA Doubles Championships.
Bernstein was honored for the second consecutive season after guiding the Wolverines to their second straight Big Ten championship and undefeated Big Ten season. She was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2011, leading Michigan to a 22-4 record heading into the NCAA Championships. U-M swept the Big Ten individual honors for the second consecutive season, with four Wolverines earning All-Big Ten honors. In her four years at the helm in Ann Arbor, she has an 83-22 record and 38-2 mark in Big Ten action. She joins former head coach Bitsy Ritt (1985-2006) as the only Wolverine mentors to earn the award twice in a career.
The No. 10-seeded Wolverines host an NCAA Regional for the second consecutive season this weekend, welcoming Akron, Tulsa and Nebraska to the Varsity Tennis Center. U-M will face Akron on Saturday (May 14) at 1 p.m., with Nebraska and Tulsa squaring off at 10 a.m. The winner of each match will play Sunday (May 15) at 1 p.m., with a berth to the Sweet 16 and a trip to Palo Alto, Calif., on the line.
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
