UC Santa Barbara's Brotman Defeats Ranked Opponent

UC Santa Barbara senior Nick Brotman (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) collected his third Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week award for the 2006 season after winning twice at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, including a win over a nationally ranked singles opponent.

Brotman played a key role in the Gauchos' 4-3 victory over UC Irvine to clinch the Big West regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament. He defeated UCI's Victor Lamm 6-3, 6-2 and also teamed with Anders Dalskov to topple Mustafa Ulukan and Trevor Dobson 8-6 in doubles.

On Sunday, the Gauchos lost a hard fought 5-2 match to Fresno State, but Brotman shined again. He triumphed 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 against the nation's 63rd-ranked player, Jacob Cech, to win for the eighth time in his last nine matches. Brotman and Dalskov earned a 9-7 victory over Sergiu Modoc and Sam Gibbs to complete an unblemished week of competition.

Long Beach State's Grady Earns Another Award

Long Beach State sophomore Hannah Grady (Coventry, England) garnered her fourth Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honor for her role in helping the 49ers clinch the conference regular season championship with a perfect 7-0 record.

Grady, ranked No. 58 in the country in singles, won both of her matches at the No. 1 spot as the 49ers downed Cal Poly (4-1) and UC Santa Barbara (6-1), two teams expected to challenge LBSU at next week's Big West Tournament. The 49ers enter as the No. 1 seed.

Grady defeated Cal Poly's Samantha Waller 6-2, 6-2 and UC Santa Barbara's Marielle Gruenig 6-3, 7-5 to improve to 14-5 on the season in singles. At No. 2 doubles, Grady teamed with Jessica Weeks to win a tight 8-6 match against the Gauchos' Chelsea Glynn and Gruenig. Long Beach State and Cal Poly did not play doubles due to rain. Grady and Weeks are ranked No. 30 in the nation in doubles.