Miller, Bernstein Named B1G Athlete, Coach of Year; Brown Earns All-Conference Nod

Miller, Bernstein Named B1G Athlete, Coach of Year; Brown Earns All-Conference Nod

ROSEMONT, Ill. — The University of Michigan women’s tennis team took home two specialty honors from the Big Ten Conference with Kari Miller being named the Athlete of the Year and Ronni Bernstein nabbing Coach of the Year honors as announced by the conference on Thursday (May 5). In addition, Miller and Jaedan Brown were each named All-Big Ten after the Wolverines won the 2022 Big Ten Tournament.

Miller is the sixth different Wolverine to be named the Athlete of the Year after anchoring Michigan at the top of the singles lineup for the majority of the season. Miller is ranked No. 19 in singles by the ITA after putting together a 26-9 overall singles record. She is 15-3 in dual-match action, highlighted by a 14-3 record at the No. 1 spot. She has nine wins over ranked opponents in dual matches alone this season after knocking off No. 9 Irina Cantos of Ohio State in straight sets (6-2, 6-2) in the championship match of the Big Ten Tournament. Miller won the ITA Midwest Regional Singles Championship in the fall and was named the Big Ten Athlete of the Week three times this season. She has now been named All-Big Ten in both of her seasons in the maize and blue.

Brown grabs All-Big Ten honors for the first time in her career after a stellar second season in Ann Arbor. Brown leads U-M in overall singles wins with 29 and is an impressive 20-2 in dual-match play. Brown was named the MVP of the Big Ten Tournament this past weekend after going 3-0 in singles and clinching Michigan’s shutout win over No. 10 Ohio State. She has won 11 straight singles matches and is ranked No. 78 in singles by the ITA. Brown also is second on the team in doubles wins with 19.

Bernstein was named Coach of the Year for the sixth time and first since 2014 after guiding Michigan to its fourth tourney title since 2015. Bernstein became the winningest coach in program history in a 4-3 Michigan win over No. 4 Cal on Feb. 8. She followed that up by becoming the first coach to reach 300 wins in a 4-1 win over Illinois on April 22.

Gala Mesochoritou was named Michigan sportsmanship honoree. She has played since January after recovering from a knee injury late last season….