UC Santa Barbara senior Benjamin Recknagel and Long Beach State senior Klaudia Malenovska were selected Big West Men's and Women's Tennis Athletes of the Week following successful outcomes against their conference counterparts.
Recknagel Goes Undefeated In Singles and Doubles
Senior Benjamin Recknagel posted a 4-0 record in singles and doubles for UC Santa Barbara to earn the Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week award.
Recknagel went undefeated against foes from UC Riverside and UC Irvine as he helped the Gauchos to a weekend split.
The No. 2 player for the Gauchos won both of his singles matches in straight sets, defeating UC Riverside's Luis Gastao 6-3, 6-3 and UC Irvine's Tyler Pham 6-2, 6-2. The win over Pham gave the Gauchos one of two points in a 5-2 loss to the Anteaters.
Recknagel also partnered with Axel Bouillin to win twice at No. 2 doubles. The pair dispatched of Highlander counterparts Kevin Griffin and Julian Ruffin, 8-4, to help clinch the doubles point and gain the 6-1 victory against the Highlanders. The UCSB duo also won a tight battle against UCI's Pham and Jacob Jung, scratching out an 8-7 (12) triumph in a tiebreaker.
Recknagel is now 10-7 in singles dual matches and 8-6 in doubles dual matches for the year.
Others nominated: Brett Bacharach (UC Davis); Ryan Cheung (UC Irvine); Calvin Ngo (UC Riverside); Dmytro Kovalyov (Hawai’i); Denis Stolyarov (Pacific)
Malenovska Extends Winning Streak In Singles To Seven Straight
Senior Klaudia Malenovska powered Long Beach State to three straight road victories, including two against conference opponents, to claim Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week accolades.
The 49ers downed Sacramento State (6-0), UC Davis (6-1) and Pacific (5-2) to improve to 17-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big West, while extending their winning streak to nine straight matches.
Malenovska played a key role in that success with a combined record of 5-0 in singles and doubles. She defeated Jennifer Nguyen of the Hornets and Layla Sanders of the Aggies by identical 6-1, 6-2 scores to start the week. In a tough tussle against Pacific's Hana Ritterova, Malenovska prevailed in three sets by a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 score.
Teaming up with Sarah Cantlay from the No. 2 doubles draw, Malenovska also was on the winning end against the Aggies and Tigers. They toppled Megan Heneghan and Melissa Kobayakawa of UCD, 8-3, and downed the Tiger tandem of Gergana Boncheva and Susan Te, 8-1.
Malenovska has won seven straight singles matches and is 8-2 in her last 10 outings. She is also 14-4 in doubles dual matches on the season.
Others nominated: Louise Oxnevad (Cal Poly); Anna Yang (Cal State Northridge); Ellie Edles (UC Davis); Kristina Smith (UC Irvine); Martina Kostalova (Hawai’i); Gergana Boncheva (Pacific)