Big West Men's Tennis Co-Athletes of the Week Fabian Matthews (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) and Lucas Sudow (Helsingborg, Sweden/Procivitas Privita Gym), and Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week Kristina Smith (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) all had one thing in common - they helped their teams knock off a nationally ranked opponent.

UCI's Matthews and UCSB's Sudow Share Honor

UC Irvine sophomore Fabian Matthews (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) and UC Santa Barbara freshman Lucas Sudow (Helsingborg, Sweden/Procivitas Privita Gym) were named Big West Men's Tennis Co-Athletes of the Week after leading their respective teams to their first wins this season over nationally ranked opponents.

Matthews was victorious at No. 2 singles against San Diego State's Giovanni Vaglietti.  Matthews won 6-4, 6-3 in a match that the Anteaters took 4-3 against the No. 54-ranked Aztecs.  Matthews also fought valiantly in a 6-2, 6-4 loss to USC's Robert Farah, the nation’s No. 14-ranked singles player.

Sudow went a combined 4-0 in singles and doubles for UC Santa Barbara.  He helped the Gauchos win 4-3 at No. 55 Utah with his 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 triumph at No. 5 singles against Tim Allin.  Sudow also teamed with Benjamin Recknagel at No. 2 doubles in an 8-4 victory over the Ute tandem of Allin and Artem Strunnikov.  Sudow competed at No. 6 singles against No. 62 Brigham Young, earning one of two UCSB points with his 6-1, 4-6, 10-7 win against Spencer Smith

Others nominated:  Toki Sherbakov (UC Davis); Austin Andres (UC Riverside)

Smith Making Impact As Freshman For UC Irvine

UC Irvine freshman Kristina Smith (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) grappled with opponents from three nationally ranked programs and fared well, claiming Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week accolades.

Smith, playing at No. 6 singles, defeated Lyndsay Kinstler of No. 9 USC by a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 score.  She also dominated Emma Cioffi of No. 42 San Diego State 6-3, 6-1, helping the Anteaters to a 5-2 team win.  Smith's only setback was to UCLA's Maya Johansson.  However, Smith partnered with Brooke Bartlett to win No. 3 doubles matches against USC and San Diego State.

Others nominated: Anais Dallara (Long Beach State); Dahra Zamudio (UC Davis); Sofia Novak (UC Santa Barbara); Jenifer Widjaja (Pacific)