UC Irvine's Ellis Defeats Pair Of Opponents From Ranked Teams

UC Irvine junior Aaron Ellis (Hayward, CA) earned the first Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week award of the 2006 season after winning two singles matches against opponents from nationally ranked squads.

Ellis won his match at No. 4 singles against Garrett Snyder of USC by a 7-6, 6-4 score. The win notched one of two points for the Anteaters in the 5-2 loss to the 20th-ranked Trojans last Saturday. Ellis also gained a 7-5, 0-6, 10-5 victory over Pepperdine's Andre Begemann at the No. 4 spot again, clinching UCI's only point in a 6-1 loss to the ninth-ranked Waves. At No. 3 singles against Andre Sion of Saint Mary's on Jan. 15, Ellis dropped a 6-4, 6-2 decision.

UC Irvine's Bernhard Has Impressive Win In First Career Start At No. 1 Singles

UC Irvine sophomore Becky Bernhard (Roseville, CA) earned the first Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honor for 2006 with an impressive victory over Pepperdine's No. 1 singles player.

In her first collegiate start at No. 1 singles, Bernhard defeated the nation's No. 15 ranked player, Bianca Dulgheru 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 to capture UCI's lone singles point of the match against the Waves. Bernhard also played a role in UCI's other point as she teamed with sophomore Ashley Siddall at No. 3 doubles in an 8-4 win over Pepperdine's Vanessa Dunlap and Jelena Jovic. The Anteaters, ranked No. 68 in the country, lost 5-2 to the No. 28 Waves.

Bernhard also competed at No. 2 singles and fell 6-1, 6-2 to the nation's third-ranked player, Amanda Fink of USC.