During the intermission of the Michigan women’s tennis match Sunday, fans milled around the main viewing deck admiring a small sign on the main concourse dedicated to the team’s lone senior, Brooke Bolender.
A young girl looking at the sign tugged on her mother’s shirt sleeve and asked if she would be able to watch Bolender play again next season. The mother steered her toward the court on which Bolender was warming up for singles and told the girl it would be the last time she would ever see the senior compete.
Most days, the majority of fans at the Varsity Tennis Center crowd into seats overlooking the main court to watch 12th-ranked singles player Emina Bektas, but Sunday, they congregated on court four to watch Bolender finish her home career.
Thirty minutes earlier, Bolender paired with Bektas to rout Wisconsin’s duo of Anastasia Tripolskaya and Lauren Chypyha, 8-2, but now she held the spotlight alone. After Michigan clinched the doubles point, the crowd gave Bolender a standing ovation as she passed into the tunnel.
The day belonged to Bolender, and her singles opponent was no match. She breezed through the first set, 6-0, and dropped only one game in the second. With the score 5-1 and Bolender within one point of victory, the Badgers’ Nova Patel hit her shot long and gave the match to Bolender. As she shook hands with Patel at the net, the crowd clapped wildly and one fan shouted, “Brooke, we’re going to miss you!”
Bolender arrived on campus four years ago ranked 10th in her recruiting class. The Florida native never played high school tennis, instead training with the Evert Tennis Academy. Bolender climbed as high as No. 97 in the world rankings and competed in the Junior U.S Open as a senior, reaching the doubles quarterfinals.
Her impact on the program was felt from day one. As a freshman, Bolender set the school record for singles wins in a season (35) and was named 2011 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
“When you have someone in the lineup, that every time she steps on the court we have a chance to win, it’s huge,” said Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein.
Four years later, Bolender has compiled an extensive résumé. She is a two-time captain, two-time ITA All-American, three-time All-Big Ten, two-time Academic All-Big Ten, the all-time wins leader at Michigan and the only Wolverine to eclipse 100 wins in both singles and doubles.
“People don’t win 100-plus singles matches and 100-plus doubles matches,” Bernstein said. “We have been very successful the past four years and she has been a big part of it.”
After her final match, players, coaches and fans gathered together on the viewing deck in front of a cake dedicated to Bolender. Bernstein talked about how proud she was of her captain and how important she has been to the program. She finished with the story of how Bolender ended up in Ann Arbor: “She recruited us,” Bernstein said.
Instead of Bernstein discovering Bolender, Bolender had discovered Bernstein. She sent Bernstein an e-mail and asked her to take a look.
With her arm wrapped around Bolender, Bernstein looked at the lone senior and thanked her for sending that e-mail.
“She’s actually playing a lot better this year,” Bernstein said. “She has played freer and looser, and hopefully the last couple of weeks she can do the same. Step up and enjoy it.”
Bolender still has plenty of tennis to play. The Wolverines need to win one more match to clinch their fifth consecutive Big Ten regular season title. As Michigan looks poised to advance deep into the postseason this year after consecutive trips to the Sweet 16, the Wolverines will be leaning on their senior captain to lead them.