Scholar Stories: Fenty Setting Big Goals, Adding to Long List of Accolades
2/24/2021 10:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis, Features
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Emma Warshofsky
It has been 25 years since the University of Michigan men's tennis team last won the Big Ten championship. Junior Andrew Fenty believes this team, this year, has what it takes to not only snap that streak, but to go bigger.
"The goal is a national championship," Fenty said boldly.
Fenty, a native of Washington, D.C., is no stranger to winning. Last year, he was Big Ten Player of the Year and an ITA All-American in both singles and doubles, finishing with a record of 11-4 at No. 1 singles and 13-2 at No. 1 doubles. The year before, in 2019, he was Big Ten Rookie of the Year and an All-Big Ten (first team) pick, recording a 27-7 singles record and 21-7 doubles record.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit last spring, Fenty and the Wolverines were ranked No. 3. He was No. 16 in singles and was No. 2 in doubles with partner Mattias Siimar. He feels that the abrupt end to their successful season has been a motivating factor for them this season.
"We were in such a good spot last year and ready to go," Fenty said. "I feel like our team is right there again. We feel like we're the best team in the Big Ten. We're finishing what we started."
Eager to build off that success, Fenty took the opportunity to improve both physically and mentally during his time in quarantine.
"I was training a good amount," he said. "I did a lot of fitness, stayed in shape and watched a lot of film. I feel like I just got smarter."
Not only has Fenty grown over the course of the pandemic, but as a junior, he feels he has what it takes to be a good leader for the underclassmen on the team.
"I've been in both spots: the new kid and now the old, wise guy," Fenty said. "It's just maturity and experience. I have a lot of experiences I can share with everyone."
His experiences in tennis started when he was only 4 years old. Fenty said that living close to the Citi Open Tennis Tournament in Washington, coupled with a gentle nudging from his father's high school friend that played the sport, as being big influences on his involvement in tennis from such a young age.
Fenty played a wide variety of sports growing up -- basketball, football, swimming, golf and baseball. But his talent in tennis and the opportunity to travel to other countries is what made the sport stand out among the others.
Reminiscing about some of his standout moments in the sport, Fenty shared some of his favorite memories from his Michigan career to this point. One was playing against Ohio State his freshman year in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Although the Wolverines ultimately lost the match, Fenty impressively beat the No. 1 ranked player in the country, handing him his first loss of the season.
"The atmosphere was insane," Fenty recalled.
Another highlight was playing No. 9-ranked Columbia during Fenty's sophomore season. He clinched the match with a three-set win (7-5, 4-6, 6-3) over the country's 20th-ranked singles player, securing Michigan's first top-10 win on the road in three years.
Fond of his experience at Michigan, what initially drew Fenty to Ann Arbor was his former tennis coach and former Wolverines associate head coach, Sean Maymi, now the head coach at Nebraska. Wanting to finish what they started when Maymi coached Fenty in junior tennis, Fenty took interest in Michigan.
Another factor was the success of other Black tennis players within the program. During his recruitment, he took note of the All-American wall inside the Varsity Tennis Center and was inspired by two players in particular.
"Evan King, who was the volunteer assistant at the time and MaliVai Washington, who finaled at Wimbledon ... those are two great role models," Fenty said.
Motivated by the accomplishments of fellow Black All-American Wolverines, Fenty recalls thinking, "Why not join them?"
In only a few short years, Fenty has done just that. He hopes he can have the same impact King and Washington had on him when he was visiting.
"Michigan does a great job having diversity and recruiting everybody," he said. "Maybe in the future, I will inspire kids to come here."
Outside of tennis, Fenty has two role models who have influenced his academic path: his parents. Both English majors when they were undergraduates, Fenty is taking after them by pursuing an English degree. As a student who enjoys writing, Fenty's favorite courses during his time at Michigan have been his English classes and an African-American Studies class.
Besides his interest in writing, Fenty's passions and goals do not solely revolve around tennis. Aside from playing tennis professionally, he sees himself getting into the technology industry. While he is unsure of the details of his professional career, Fenty is thinking about all the possibilities for his future.
With big goals come big dreams. Fenty is more than ready to add both to his already long list of accomplishments.
Players Mentioned
