Erin Faulkner Earns All-Big Ten Honors
4/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 30, 2015 
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Two members of the Michigan State women's tennis team received honors from the Big Ten Conference on Thursday.
Sophomore Erin Faulkner received All-Big Ten honors from the conference coaches. This is Faulkner's first career All-Big Ten recognition.
"I am honored to be a part of a team that brings out the best in me," said Faulkner. "My teammates and coaches deserve as much as the credit for my success as I do. Without their support on and off the court, I wouldn't be in this position. I want to thank everyone who has been with me through this amazing journey."
Faulkner joins 13 other Big Ten athletes who received All-Big Ten honors. The Big Ten Conference switched from having first team and second team honors to having All-Big Ten honors this season. Faulkner is the 11th Spartan all-time to receive All-Big Ten honors. This is also that the second-straight year that a Spartan has claimed All-Big Ten honors with Marina Bohrer receiving first team All-Big Ten honors last season.
"I am really happy for Erin," said head coach Simone Jardim. "She had a really great Big Ten season and she really deserves this."
Faulkner finished this season with a 21-15 record overall in singles and a 6-5 record in Big Ten play. She posted a 14-10 record at the No. 1 singles spot, with wins over Yuliya Shupenia of DePaul, Rutger's Gina Li, Nebraska's Maggy Lehmicke, Wisconsin's Lauren Chypyha, Illinois' Alexis Casasti, Northwestern's Alicia Barnett and two wins over Tereza Brichacova of Minnesota.
For a second-straight year, sophomore Athena Trouillot was recognized with the Sportsmanship Honoree Award. One student-athlete from each of the 14 schools are honored by the conference. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. Trouillot played primarily on the No. 5 singles court and the No. 1 doubles court. She posted a 20-17 overall singles record for the season which includes 14-10 in dual play.
All-Big Ten Team
Alexis Casati, Illinois
Melissa Kopinski, Illinois
Katie Klyczek, Indiana
Emina Bektas, Michigan
Sarah Lee, Michigan
Alex Najarian, Michigan
Ronit Yurovsky, Michigan
Erin Faulkner, Michigan State
Alicia Barnett, Northwestern
Erin Larner, Northwestern
Gabriella De Santis, Ohio State
Anna Sanford, Ohio State
Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum, Purdue
Lauren Chypyha, Wisconsin
Sportsmanship Award Winners
Melissa Kopinski, Illinois
Katie Klyczek, Indiana
Morven McCulloch, Iowa
Alexandra Stanova, Maryland
Ronit Yurovsky, Michigan
Athena Trouillot, Michigan State
Caroline Ryba, Minnesota
Maggy Lehmicke, Nebraska
Erin Larner, Northwestern
Grâinne O'Neill, Ohio State
Katia Blik, Penn State
Krisztina Kapitany, Purdue
Lindsay Balsamo, Rutgers
Ekaterina Stepanova, Wisconsin
Individual Awards
Athlete of the Year: Emina Bektas, Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Erin Larner, Northwestern
Coach of the Year: Melissa Schaub, Ohio State
Sophomore Erin Faulkner received All-Big Ten honors from the conference coaches. This is Faulkner's first career All-Big Ten recognition.
"I am honored to be a part of a team that brings out the best in me," said Faulkner. "My teammates and coaches deserve as much as the credit for my success as I do. Without their support on and off the court, I wouldn't be in this position. I want to thank everyone who has been with me through this amazing journey."
Faulkner joins 13 other Big Ten athletes who received All-Big Ten honors. The Big Ten Conference switched from having first team and second team honors to having All-Big Ten honors this season. Faulkner is the 11th Spartan all-time to receive All-Big Ten honors. This is also that the second-straight year that a Spartan has claimed All-Big Ten honors with Marina Bohrer receiving first team All-Big Ten honors last season.
"I am really happy for Erin," said head coach Simone Jardim. "She had a really great Big Ten season and she really deserves this."
Faulkner finished this season with a 21-15 record overall in singles and a 6-5 record in Big Ten play. She posted a 14-10 record at the No. 1 singles spot, with wins over Yuliya Shupenia of DePaul, Rutger's Gina Li, Nebraska's Maggy Lehmicke, Wisconsin's Lauren Chypyha, Illinois' Alexis Casasti, Northwestern's Alicia Barnett and two wins over Tereza Brichacova of Minnesota.
For a second-straight year, sophomore Athena Trouillot was recognized with the Sportsmanship Honoree Award. One student-athlete from each of the 14 schools are honored by the conference. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. Trouillot played primarily on the No. 5 singles court and the No. 1 doubles court. She posted a 20-17 overall singles record for the season which includes 14-10 in dual play.
All-Big Ten Team
Alexis Casati, Illinois
Melissa Kopinski, Illinois
Katie Klyczek, Indiana
Emina Bektas, Michigan
Sarah Lee, Michigan
Alex Najarian, Michigan
Ronit Yurovsky, Michigan
Erin Faulkner, Michigan State
Alicia Barnett, Northwestern
Erin Larner, Northwestern
Gabriella De Santis, Ohio State
Anna Sanford, Ohio State
Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum, Purdue
Lauren Chypyha, Wisconsin
Sportsmanship Award Winners
Melissa Kopinski, Illinois
Katie Klyczek, Indiana
Morven McCulloch, Iowa
Alexandra Stanova, Maryland
Ronit Yurovsky, Michigan
Athena Trouillot, Michigan State
Caroline Ryba, Minnesota
Maggy Lehmicke, Nebraska
Erin Larner, Northwestern
Grâinne O'Neill, Ohio State
Katia Blik, Penn State
Krisztina Kapitany, Purdue
Lindsay Balsamo, Rutgers
Ekaterina Stepanova, Wisconsin
Individual Awards
Athlete of the Year: Emina Bektas, Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Erin Larner, Northwestern
Coach of the Year: Melissa Schaub, Ohio State
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