UC Irvine senior Jon Kazarian and Pacific freshman Iveta Masarova were successful in their matches against top notch competition, earning them Big West Men's and Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week recognition.

Kazarian Wins Trio Of Matches Against Ranked Foes
Jon Kazarian (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS) won a pair of matches against ranked opposition for UC Irvine, garnering the senior Big West Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week accolades.

The Anteaters competed against No. 9 UCLA, No. 61 UNLV, No. 35 Fresno State and No. 59 Alabama, going 1-3 overall as a team, but Kazarian posted singles wins in two of those matches.  He defeated Johannes Markel of UNLV from the No. 5 position by a 6-4, 6-2 score and gave the Anteaters their only point against Alabama with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph against Carlos Taborga.

In the Fresno State match, Kazarian was leading his match at No. 4, 5-7. 6-3, 2-1 against Zachary Leslie when the Bulldogs clinched the necessary four points for the victory.

Kazarian also paired with Sam Gould at No. 3 doubles to defeat the UCLA duo of Warren Hardie and Clay Thompson.

Others nominated: Kyle Miller (UC Davis); Felix Macherez (UC Riverside); Benjamin Recknagel (UC Santa Barbara); Tomasz Krzyszkowski (Pacific)

Masarova Excels In Tiger Home Opener
Pacific freshman Iveta Masarova won both her singles and doubles matches against Pac-12 foe Oregon to capture Big West Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week honors.

The No. 1 singles player for the Tigers claimed a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Oregon’s Patricia Skowronski in her team’s season home opener.  

Masarova also teamed with Julia Hansen in No. 1 doubles to defeat the Duck tandem of Skowronski and Sofia Hager, 8-4.  Despite the two victories, the Tigers lost a close 4-3 battle but showed promise with Masarova at the top of the lineup.

Others nominated: Alexa Lee (Cal Poly); Jennifer Sher (Cal State Northridge); Anais Dallara (Long Beach State); April Scatliffe (UC Santa Barbara)