UC Irvine's Ulukan Posts 4-0 Record In Singles To Net Honor
UC Irvine senior Mustafa Ulukan (Istanbul, Turkey) earned Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors after an exceptional performance in which he went 4-0 at the No. 3 singles position and 3-1 in No. 1 doubles, helping the Anteaters to a 4-0 team record.
Ulukan began the week with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Gonzaga's Brett Womack as UCI clobbered the Bulldogs, 7-0, on Monday. In Tuesday's 4-3 win over another group of Bulldogs - this one from Yale - Ulukan chalked up a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Jeff Dawson. He also played a role in two more 4-3 wins against Purdue on Thursday and No. 64 Princeton on Sunday. Ulukan served up a 6-1, 6-3 win against Eric Hodgeman of Purdue and downed Princeton's George Carpeni 6-4, 6-4.
In doubles play, Ulukan and partner Aaron Yovan won three tight matches against duos from Gonzaga, Purdue and Princeton to help the Anteaters win the doubles point in each match.
Agababian Keeps UC Irvine Rolling On 11-Match Win Streak
UC Irvine junior Inna Agababian (San Francisco, CA) collected Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors as her play helped the Anteaters to a 3-0 record, including a pair of wins over ranked competition. UCI's wins over Central Florida (4-3), No. 71 Yale (5-2) and No. 53 New Mexico (4-3) extended the Anteaters' winning streak to 11 straight matches.
Agababian went 3-0 at No. 2 singles for the week. She defeated Kenza Belbacha of Central Florida 6-0, 7-6 and Sarah Lederhandler of Yale 6-3, 6-3. Agababian, playing her third match in three days, cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory against New Mexico's Mackenzie White to finish out the week.
Big West Battles Non-Conference Foes This Week
For the most part, Big West women's and men's teams are staying at home this week to host non-conference action. Five of the six men's and five of the eight women's matches will be played on Big West courts.
The No. 50 Long Beach State women continue a six-match homestand, welcoming No. 57 Nevada and No. 64 Princeton. The 49ers are 3-1 on the homestand so far, with wins over Big West foe Cal Poly, No. 40 Pennsylvania and No. 52 Iowa. Nevada and Princeton will be the fourth and fifth consecutive opponents on the 49er schedule. LBSU then embarks on a six-match roadtrip.
Women's league leader UC Irvine, a winner of 11 straight matches and ranked No. 28 in the nation, does not play this week. UC Santa Barbara stands in third place at 3-1, hoping to bolster its non-conference résumé as the second Big West school to play Nevada - ranked No. 57 nationally.
The lone conference match features a pair of teams at 1-1 in Big West play – Pacific and Cal State Northridge. The two schools battle on Sunday.
The men's competition features two matches against ranked opponents. Pacific, which snapped a nine-match losing streak in recording its first win of the spring season against Northern Colorado on Monday, hosts No. 75 Cornell on Wednesday. The Tigers are in the midst of a four-match homestand which continues against Northern Arizona on Friday and Montana State on Sunday.
Ivy League school Dartmouth visits Cal Poly on Saturday and UC Santa Barbara on Sunday. UC Irvine, which has won four straight matches, is idle from action this week. The Anteaters are ranked No. 75 in the FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.