Hejazi Completes Comeback As UC Santa Barbara Defeats Pac-10 Opponent

Junior Bijan Hejazi (Santa Clara, Calif.) rallied from a set down to defeat his opponent at the No. 1 singles position and help UC Santa Barbara to a win over Pac-10 foe Oregon, earning him Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors.

Hejazi lost the first set to Marco Verdasco, but won the next two sets to complete the 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 comeback victory.  That win helped the Gauchos defeat the Ducks, 6-1, and give them their first win versus a Pac-10 team in over a decade.

It was the third consecutive win for Hejazi at No. 1 singles.  At No. 3 doubles, Hejazi teamed with Nigel Barton to win 9-8 over Francisco Gallardo and Stephen Wiechert.  The duo trailed 7-4 at one point, only to storm back with wins in five of the next six games.

Hejazi is now 3-2 in singles and 4-1 in doubles this season.

Schuler Topples Pair of Big West Opponents

UC Davis junior Randi Schuler (Woodland, Calif./Purdue University) knocked off her counterpart at No. 1 singles in two conference matches to be named Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week.   

Schuler bested Pacific's Jolanta Twarowska and Cal State Northridge's Victoria Brymer as the Aggies posted a 1-1 record for the week, defeating the Tigers and falling to the Matadors.

Schuler's 6-2, 6-2 win over Twarowska gave UC Davis a 3-2 lead in the match in an eventual 4-3 victory.  In the 4-2 loss to the Matadors, Schuler picked up one of the Aggie points with her 6-4, 6-2 triumph against Brymer, last week's Big West Athlete of the Week.

She has won four of her past five at No. 1 singles, with the only loss coming to the No. 10 player in the nation.  Her win helped the Aggies to their first-ever Big West victory.

Schuler is now 5-4 in singles on the season.  Her five dual wins is tied for the team high.