The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2017 THE WOLVERINE 17 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Sophomore Kate Fahey ended her freshman season No. 61 in the ITA singles rankings and sat at No. 25 this year as of May 8. She boasts a 16-0 career record in Big Ten singles play, and has earned NCAA bids in both singles and doubles. Along with teammate Alex Najarian, Fahey is a member of the No. 9 doubles team in the coun- try — and they were ranked No. 1 earlier this year. Here are a few things you didn't know about the Fair Haven, N.J., native: Nickname: "Ronni [Bernstein, the head coach] likes to call me Katia because I like to do a Russian accent. … One of the other coaches likes to call me 'Machina' which means machine in Spanish." Favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor: "Aventura for sure. I love tapas and small plates. It's really fun to go there and share meals, and I think the food is really good." Best meal she can cook by herself: "Pancakes, I think it's the only thing I can make on my own. I'm not much of a cook." Sports she plays besides tennis: "I tried to play almost every sport. I'm grateful for that because it allowed me to choose what sport I really liked. The last sport I played before I decided on tennis was lacrosse, and I really enjoyed it." Hobbies: "I definitely like to hang out with friends. I love when my family visits. I love playing with my dog, Rita. Some- thing that I don't get to do, but I used to do is ride horses." Favorite TV show: "I just started watching 'The Office,' which I love. I think it's so funny. I also like 'New Girl' a lot." Favorite movie: "It's kind of embarrassing, but I like 'Stick It.' It's that gymnastics movie. It's kind of old. I saw it when I was little. I just thought the main character was awesome." Dream vacation: "I would love to go to Spain. I'm double majoring in international studies and Spanish. I feel like the only way to get really good at Spanish is to be immersed in the culture." Favorite professional tennis venue she's been to: "The U.S. Open has to be my favorite. It's an hour train ride [from my hometown], so I've been going since I was little." Favorite professional athlete: "Li Na, I just loved the way she competed [she is now retired]. … I see myself in her a little bit." Role model: "I think Emma Watson is a really cool figure because she has been promoting feminism, which I think has been a big issue lately." Why she chose tennis: "I've just been kind of growing up around the game. … It gave me a lot of confidence just because it was kind of unique. I was really the only tennis player growing up in middle school." What she hopes to do after tennis: "I think I want to get my MBA and then eventually do something in business." Her overall U-M experience: "I have loved it here. Every- one here from academics to athletics has been so helpful and I really feel like this is a huge family." — Leland Mitchinson Though track and field distance run- ner Gina Sereno graduated this spring, neither her academic nor athletic ca- reers at Michigan are over just yet. On top of finishing up the outdoor track season, Sereno will have a fifth year with the team after losing time to injury. She will also enter the master's program in marketing in Michigan's business school this summer after get- ting an undergraduate degree in me- chanical engineering. Even with the heavy academic work- load she took on as a part of the col- lege of engineering, Sereno is one of the track and field team's top runners. Sereno is a three-time Big Ten cham- pion and she has not lost through three races this spring, entering the Big Ten Championships. "I'm constantly inspired by my team- mates," Sereno said. "They are the ones who really push me to be my best both in practice and off the track. For ex- ample, training with Erin Finn all indoor season I think definitely was a good springboard into having a successful outdoor season." Sereno found her way to Ann Ar- bor from another Big Ten town, and she nearly ended up staying there for school. "I'm from Madison, Wis., and I actually grew up a really big Wisconsin Badgers fan," Sereno said. "When I was looking at colleges, I was deciding between Wisconsin and Michigan, because Michigan is so similar to the Wisconsin campus. "Ultimately, the reason I picked Michi- gan was they have a phenomenal engi- neering program, and really great track and field and cross country teams." Engineering was something Sereno was interested in even before she had to choose a college. For Sereno, en- gineering was her avenue to helping other people. "I think the cliché answer that every- one always says is, 'Well I really liked math and science when I was a kid,' and to a certain extent that's true," Sereno said. "I think what's really resounding is that I was always really interested in problem solving." Because she has one year of school left, Sereno has no concrete plans for once she finishes her master's program, but she has been working in a research position that involves sound waves in water, and she hopes to pursue that once she hits the job market. — Leland Mitchinson Sereno was a part of the distance medley relay that earned first-team All-America honors during the 2017 indoor season, and she also has earned a pair of second-team laurels as an individual. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS Getting To Know Tennis Sophomore Kate Fahey Student-Athlete Of The Month Track And Field Redshirt Junior Gina Sereno FAHEY