UC Santa Barbara's Benjamin Recknagel and Cal Poly's Suzie Matzenauer were selected the Big West Men's and Women's Tennis Athletes of the Week after excelling in singles. Recknagel was 2-0 in singles and Matzenauer 3-0, including a win over the nation's No. 43-ranked player.
UC Santa Barbara's Recknagel Successful Against San Diego Schools
UC Santa Barbara's Benjamin Recknagel (Munich, Germany/Carl Orff Gymnasium) garnered Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors after playing a role in capturing three of his team's four points in two contests.
Recknagel was the lone Gaucho to secure a singles victory in UCSB's 5-2 loss at San Diego on Saturday. He picked up a 6-1, 6-7, 7-5 victory at No. 6 singles against the Toreros' Jakob Kowalski. Recknagel aided UCSB's effort in earning the doubles point, teaming with Lucas Sudow to post an 8-3 win over the San Diego tandem of Nikola Bubnic and Abdullah Hashem.
In UCSB's 5-2 loss at No. 63 San Diego State on Sunday, Recknagel was one of two Gauchos to win in singles. He moved up to the No. 5 spot to claim a 6-0, 6-3 victory against Jakob Kowalski. Sudow has now won three straight singles matches.
Others nominated: Steven Henderson (UC Irvine); Austin Andres (UC Riverside)
Cal Poly's Matzenauer Goes 3-0 In Singles, Defeated Ranked Foe From UCLA
Suzie Matzenauer (Tacoma, Wash./Northwestern) was impressive in three matches for Cal Poly, defeating two conference foes and a nationally ranked one to collect Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors.
Matzenauer went 2-0 in both singles and doubles against Big West opponents Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge, helping the Mustangs win 7-0 and 6-1, respectively. She defeated CSF's Tiffany Mai 6-2, 6-1 and came back to win against CSUN's Brooke Doane by a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 score.
Her biggest victory of the week came against UCLA's Andrea Remynse. Remynse, ranked No. 43 in singles by the ITA, fell 6-2, 7-6 (5) to Matzenauer at No. 2 singles.
Matzenauer also partnered with Jocelyn Davis to win at No. 2 doubles versus CSF and Brittany Blalock at No. 1 doubles to capture an 8-2 win over CSUN’s Doane and Anna Yang.
Others nominated: Anais Dallara (Long Beach State); Natalia Lozano (UC Santa Barbara)