Chris Kearney helped UC Irvine clinch the regular season men's title and Cal State Northridge's Jennifer Sher continued her dominating play in singles and doubles as the duo earned Big West Men's and Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week accolades.

Kearney Tops Ranked Opponent, Nearly Upsets Nation's No. 1 Player
Chris Kearney (Irvine, Calif./North Carolina) helped UC Irvine win the conference regular season title with a 5-0 record to earn Big West Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week honors.

With the winner clinching the Big West title and No. 1 seed in this week’s league tournament, UC Irvine captured a 5-2 victory at Cal Poly on Saturday.  Kearney, at No. 1 singles, defeated No. 104-ranked Andre Dome 6-2, 6-3 to help his team’s cause.

Earlier in the week, Kearney nearly pulled off an upset victory over the nation’s top-ranked singles player from USC.  Kearney, owning a No. 41 national ranking, took Steve Johnson to three sets before falling 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-2.

Others nominated: None

Sher Excels In Singles and Doubles
Cal State Northridge’s Jennifer Sher (Hong Kong/Concordia) produced singles and doubles victories in her team’s home finale to capture Big West Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week accolades.

The Matadors defeated Big West foe Pacific 5-2 on Saturday as Sher posted a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Julia Hansen at the No. 2 singles position.  Sher improved to 16-5 overall and 6-2 against Big West opposition in singles play this season.

Sher teamed with Brooke Doane in No. 1 doubles to pull out a 9-7 decision over the Pacific tandem of Jenifer Widjaja and Hansen.  Sher and Doane are now 15-1 on the season as a doubles team.  The 15 wins tie them for the sixth-most in school history.

Others nominated: Morgan McIntosh (Cal State Northridge); Jamie Raney (UC Riverside); Jenifer Widjaja (Pacific)