When freshman Michelle Sulahian joined the Michigan women's tennis team, she needed to push aside all of the awards she had won in high school before she could really start to compete in Ann Arbor.

All-American honors her senior year.

A No. 38 national ranking, according to tennisrecruting.net.

Her rating as the second-best singles player in Southern California for the girls 18 and under division.

All of that doesn't mean much now.

The Valley Glenn, Calif., native knew that coming to an elite Big Ten program would pose obstacles she didn't face in high school.

Sulahian had the luxury of playing for show in high school — throwing drops shots, not needing to battle hard for a lot of points and coasting to easy victories.

But at the collegiate level, that style isn't successful. Sulahian found that out early with a few losses during the winter season.

“She’s a team player, and in the past, she relied probably a lot on her talent alone,” Michigan assistant coach Teryn Ashley said. “Now we are trying to help her understand the game better, which is going to help her make tremendous strides.”

Those strides could include securing a permanent spot in the starting lineup, but that won’t be easy.

Sulahian competes with senior Lindsey Howard for the No. 6 singles position and a spot at No. 3 doubles.

Sulahian earned team MVP honors as a freshman in high school, so competing for a place in the lineup never concerned her before. But at Michigan, she fights every day in practice for a chance to compete during the weekend.

“Competition for your spot is definitely a good thing,” Ashley said. “It helps you not to get complacent. (Sulahian and Howard) are probably pushing each other a lot because they both want to get into the singles lineup and the same thing goes for doubles — kind of like lighting a fire under both of them.”

Although some players could be discouraged with the situation, Sulahian is starting to show she has the intensity and discipline necessary to compete at the collegiate level. And she says the competition with Howard has a given her a lot of “extra motivation to get a spot in the lineup”.

“We have opposite games, so it’s good when we play each other,” Sulahian said. “Lindsey likes to wait for the right shot, while I like to come in and play aggressive at the net. So, it’s definitely been good practice this year.”

That competitive spirit in practice has translated into recent singles success for Sulahian. Two weeks ago, she was the only Wolverine to beat both Texas Christian and Baylor.

Against the Horned Frogs, she broke a 3-3 tie to clinch the deciding point for Michigan. She also clinched the win for Michigan against South Carolina earlier in the season.

“She is an unbelievable team player and clinching those matches was awesome for us,” Ashley said. “She was really inspired by the moment and played tough.”

And with Sulahian’s victories, maybe she has finally found a permanent spot at No. 6 for the 19th-ranked Wolverines.