April 28, 2011
PARK RIDGE, Ill. -
Illinois sophomore Rachael White and junior Amy Allin were selected to 2011 All-Big Ten teams for the first time in their careers, it was announced Thursday evening by the conference office. White earned first-team honors, while Allin was chosen to the second-team, which was just added this season. The selections mark the 11th straight year the Illini have had at least one All-Big Ten honoree.
White went 6-4 in conference matches playing solely at Nos. 1 and 2 singles and ranks second on the team with 17 wins this season. She has been the only Illini to remain ranked in both singles and doubles the entire dual season, reaching as high as No. 92 in singles and No. 9 in doubles with freshman Allison Falkin. The duo leads the team with 17 wins, including nine at the No. 1 spot.
White also was named Illinois' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. 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.
Allin finished 6-4 against Big Ten opponents playing at Nos. 1 and 2 singles. She currently leads the team with 22 wins, just five shy of her career-high 26 tallied her freshman year.
Big Ten champion Michigan swept the top individual honors for the second consecutive year, as Denise Muresan was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row, while Brooke Bolender garnered Big Ten Freshman of the Year accolades and Ronni Bernstein was again selected Big Ten Coach of the Year.
The sixth-seeded Illini topped No. 11-seed Michigan State, 4-0, earlier today to advance to Friday's quarterfinals, where they will face third-seeded Purdue at 1 p.m. CT.
First-Team All-Big Ten
Rachael White, Illinois
Leslie Hureau, Indiana
Evgeniya Vertesheva, Indiana
SONJA MOLNAR, Iowa
BROOKE BOLENDER, Michigan
Sam Critser, Michigan
DENISE MURESAN, Michigan
Whitney Taney, Michigan
MARIA MOSOLOVA, Northwestern
BELINDA NIU, Northwestern
Kate Turvy, Northwestern
Petra Januskova, Penn State
Unanimous selections in CAPS
Second-Team All-Big Ten
Amy Allin, Illinois
Amy Barton, Michigan State
Natallia Pintusava, Minnesota
Brittany Wowchuk, Northwestern
Kelsey Haviland, Ohio State
Jennifer Rabot, Purdue
Bhavani Tirumurti, Purdue
Jenny Hois, Wisconsin
Athlete of the Year: Denise Muresan, Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Brooke Bolender, Michigan
Coach of the Year: Ronni Bernstein, Michigan
Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Rachael White, Illinois
Kayla Fujimoto, Indiana
Alexis Dorr, Iowa
Mimi Nguyen, Michigan
Dana Guentert, Michigan State
Mariana Spilca, Minnesota
Nida Hamilton, Northwestern
Fidan Manashirova, Ohio State
Marie-Frederique Bedard, Penn State
Imogen Golder, Purdue
Aleksandra Markovic, Wisconsin
