April 26, 2013 - 12:45am
Evan King named Big Ten Athlete of the Year, again
BY LEV FACHER
The Big Ten announced on Thursday evening that Michigan tennis standout Evan King has been named the Big Ten men’s tennis Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season.
King, a senior, will have to find room on an already-full shelf for the prestigious award. In his career at Michigan, he racked up three All-Big Ten selections, was named an International Tennis Association All-American twice, earned a Freshman of the Year award in 2010, and took over the all-time Wolverine record for most combined career singles and doubles wins.
This season, King has posted a 23-4 singles record and a 17-1 dual-match record.
The Chicago native — slightly more than a week away from graduation — has his sights set on a future in professional tennis. King plans on teaming up with fellow Michigan graduate Jason Jung as his doubles partner.
King has previously said that his goal is to earn a top-75 world ranking within three years of graduation, a lofty yet achievable goal, given his track record in Ann Arbor. In four years, King has compiled a 85-29 singles record and 60-38 doubles record.
Michigan women’s tennis coach Ronni Bernstein was also named Big Ten Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season, hardly a surprise given the Wolverines’ 58-4 mark in conference play during her six-year tenure. Bernstein guided the Wolverines to their current No. 6 ranking and No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament this weekend.
Other Michigan award winners announced at the pre-Big Ten Tournament banquet in Columbus include the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award for women’s tennis standout Ronit Yurovsky.
Sophomores Emina Bektas and Sarah Lee and junior Brooke Bolender, along with Yurovsky, all earned All-Big Ten honors.
On the men’s side, sophomore Alex Petrone was announced as the winner of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
