King Tabbed Big Ten Athlete of the Week
9/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Sept. 28, 2011
PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- Junior Evan King (Chicago, Ill./Kaplan HS) of the University of Michigan men's tennis team was named Big Ten Conference Athlete of the Week on Wednesday (Sept. 28) in recognition of his weekend performance at the season-opening Harvard Fall Chowder Invitational. The honor is the first for the Wolverines this season and the fourth for King in his collegiate career.
King, who is currently ranked No. 8 by the ITA, was named the Dale Junta '58 Winner of the Harvard event after registering a perfect 3-0 record in the top singles flight, and teamed with sophomore Shaun Bernstein (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview Old Bethpage JFK HS) to win the doubles competition with a 3-0 mark. It is the best season start for King in his collegiate career.
All three of King's victories came in straight sets against nationally ranked opposition. He defeated Texas A&M's 42nd-ranked Alexis Klegou, 7-5, 6-1, to open the tournament before cruising past USC's No. 16-ranked Daniel Nguyen, 6-3, 6-1, and Harvard's No. 78-ranked Jonathan Pearlman, 6-4, 6-3, to close the singles competition.
King and Bernstein won all three doubles matches, including an 8-5 decision against No. 35-ranked Daniel Nguyen and Ray Sarmiento of USC. The U-M duo, ranked 33rd in the ITA preseason poll, also earned an 8-5 victory over Texas A&M and a 9-8 win over Harvard.
King and Bernstein will head to the ITA All-American Championships, scheduled for next Monday through Saturday, Oct. 3-9, at the University of Tulsa's Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. Bernstein will begin play in the 112-player qualifying draw at the ITA All-American Championships on Monday, Oct. 3. Bernstein hopes to earn one of 16 spots into the 64-player main draw, which begins Thursday (Oct. 3). King has automatically qualified for the main singles draw, and he will team with Bernstein in the 64-team doubles qualifying draw.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
