Photo by Erez Aidlin
ITA No. 55 Harvard senior Stephanie Yakoff has committed to play her fifth year of college tennis with the Michigan Wolverines, announcing her decision via Instagram Friday evening, six months before her time is up in Cambridge, MA.
With Class of ’27 onward receiving a fifth-year in the new 5-in-5 model, it will likely become commonplace for a player to stay at one school for their undergraduate career and then transfer after finishing their degree. That seems especially likely for prestigious schools such as Harvard, where finishing with that schools degree is valuable in post-tennis life. Not to mention the fact that the Ivy League does not allow for fifth year athletes.
She is a qualifier for NCAAs in singles and doubles for 2026, after qualifying for singles last season.
The question is, why announce it now? Maybe, it is to build Michigan’s case to recruit more top talent.
With No. 6 senior Piper Charney, No. 50 junior Reese Miller and No. 64 junior Emily Sartz-Lunde on the roster and likely to be around for next season, the Wolverines could become the team to beat in the Big Ten.
We will see how Yakoff’s season shapes out the rest of the year after making the early announcement.
