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Women's Tennis All-Big Ten Team and Individual Award Winners Announced by Conference Office
April 29, 2010
The Big Ten Conference announced the members of the 2010 All-Big Ten Women's Tennis Team and the sport's individual award winners on Thursday night. Michigan swept the individual honors as Denise Muresan was named Athlete of the Year, Mimi Nguyen earned Freshman of the Year honors, and Ronni Bernstein was voted Coach of the Year. It is the first time since 1997, when Sarah Cyganiak and Elizabeth Ritt were named Athlete and Coach of the Year, respectively, that Michigan has won an individual honor. Muresan, ranked No. 20 in the latest ITA National Singles poll, won Athlete of the Year honors following a 9-1 record at No. 1 singles during the conference season. She finished the season 17-6 playing the top position and added a 9-1 mark in doubles play during Big Ten competition, helping the Wolverines to their first Big Ten Championship since 1997 and the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Nguyen becomes the first Wolverine to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year since Sora Moon accomplished the feat in 1995. She finished the Big Ten season undefeated, going 10-0, and was 21-2 overall, 6-0 at No. 3 singles, 9-1 at No. 4, 5-1 at No. 5 and 1-0 at No. 6 With a 15-match winning streak and a 9-1 mark in doubles during Big Ten play, she was a catalyst in Michigan's championship season. Bernstein guided Michigan to its second Big Ten Championship in program history and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for her efforts. The Wolverines finished the season 20-3 and went 10-0 in conference play for the first time since 1997, the year Michigan won its first Big Ten crown. Appearing fourth overall in the latest ITA National Team rankings, the Maize and Blue earned the top seed in this week's Big Ten Tournament. Muresan and Nguyen were two of the 13-member All-Big Ten Team, which included unanimous members Megan Fudge of Illinois, Sonja Molnar of Iowa, Muresan and Whitney Taney of Michigan, Maria Mosolova and Samantha Murray of Northwestern and Kirsten Flower of Ohio State. Indiana's Leslie Hureau and Evgeniya Vertesheva, Michigan's Nguyen, Minnesota's Alessandra Ferrazzi, Northwestern's Lauren Lui, and Purdue's Jennifer Rabot rounded out the all-conference team.
The conference office also announced honorees from each team for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The 11 student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. These student-athletes are now candidates for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, as the conference office will honor one male and one female student-athlete from each institution at the end of the school year. A complete list of the 2010 All-Big Ten Team and individual honorees can be found below. All-Big Ten Team:* Athlete of the Year: Freshman of the Year: Coach of the Year: Sportsmanship Honorees: * - 13 Due to tie |
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