Seniors Andre Dome of Cal Poly and Klaudia Malenovska of Long Beach State began the 2013 season in fine fashion as they were named the Big West Men's and Women's Tennis Athletes of the Week.
Dome Helps Cal Poly to 2-0 Start
Cal Poly senior Andre Dome (Arroyo Grande, Calif./Arroyo Grande HS) went undefeated in singles and doubles to help his squad win twice to open the season, earning him Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week accolades.
Dome, competing at the No. 1 position in singles and doubles, enjoyed a sweep of Saint Mary's opponent Jessi Kiuro 6-2, 6-4 in Saturday's 5-2 triumph over the Gaels in Fresno, Calif. Dome also teamed with Jordan Bridge to deliver an 8-3 win over Kiuro and Joakim Norstrom.
The hard hitting right-hander returned to action Sunday as the 62nd-ranked Mustangs upset No. 50 Fresno State by a 4-1 score. Dome won a hard fought three-set thriller, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 against Reid deLaubenfels that gave CP a 3-1 lead in the match. Although the Mustangs dropped the doubles point, he and Bridge were a bright spot as the duo breezed to an 8-1 win versus deLaubenfels and Nikolas Papic.
This is the eighth career Athlete of the Week award for Dome, who ranks third all-time in Big West history. The only two players with more citations are former Pacific standouts Arnar Sigurdsson (10) and Moritz Starke (9).
Others nominated: Reo Asami (UC Irvine); Mbonisi Ndimande (UC Santa Barbara); Jared Spiker (Hawaii); Sem Verbeek (Pacific)
Malenovska Defeats Ranked Opponent at Beach Winter Invitational
Long Beach State senior Klaudia Malenovska (Bratislava, Slovakia/Haanova 28 HS) won two singles and three doubles matches as part of the Beach Winter Invitational, securing her Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors.
Competing at the No. 1 singles position, Malenovska's signature victory came against No. 74-ranked Michaela Bezdickova of New Mexico. She outlasted Bezdickova 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 to finish out the tournament. Malenovska also won a match against Nevada's Michelle Okhremchuk. After splitting the first two sets 4-6, 7-6 (5), Okhremchuk retired. Her only setback came to Julyette Steur of Colorado in a 6-2, 7-5 decision.
In doubles action, Malenovska and partner Sarah Cantlay were a perfect 3-0 from their No. 1 position. They fought hard to defeat Dhany Quevedo and Carla Manzi Tenorio of Colorado, 9-8 (4). In the ensuing two matches, the pair had a much easier time as they blanked New Mexico's Kristin Eggleston and Maria Sablina 8-0 and took care of the Wolf Pack's Sophie Stevens and Sheila Smiley by an 8-3 score.
Malenovska now has three career Athlete of the Week awards, which ties her for 11th all-time in Big West history.
Others nominated: Tiffany Pham (UC Davis); Marivick Mamiit (UC Irvine)