A pair of freshmen came up big for their respective teams as Cal Poly's Derek Klein and UC Irvine's Sarah Gong collected Big West Men's and Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors.

Klein Strikes Down Ranked Opponent From San Diego State

Freshman Derek Klein (San Diego, Calif./Westview HS) defeated a ranked opponent in singles to help Cal Poly past No. 64 San Diego State, which helped him earn Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week accolades.

Klein, who is 3-1 in singles on the season, notched a 6-3, 6-3 win against No. 123 Andraik Khachatyano at the No. 4 position in Cal Poly's 6-1 rout of the Aztecs on Saturday.

Earlier in the week, Klein put a score into USC's No. 61 Max De Vroome, falling 6-3, 6-4 in a close affair.  He closed out the week with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph against UC Santa Cruz No. 3 player Bryce Bettwy as the Mustangs cruised to the sweep.

Klein has been instrumental in the Mustangs' 4-2 start, which has included victories over two ranked opponents in No. 50 Fresno State and SDSU.

Others nominated:  Kyle Miller (UC Davis); Tyler Pham (UC Irvine); Sem Verbeek (Pacific)

Gong Show On Full Display In Pair of Impressive Wins

UC Irvine freshman Sarah Gong (Hermosa Beach, Calif./Hope Chapel Academy) continued to impress with victories against opponents from UCLA and Loyola Marymount, garnering her Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors.

Gong was part of a feisty No. 65 UC Irvine squad that challenged No. 2 UCLA in an upset bid.  Gong picked up one of the two Anteater points on the day as she knocked off Catherine Harrison 6-3, 3-6, 10-6 at No. 4 singles. 

Two days later, the Anteaters tripped up Loyola Marymount by a 7-0 score.  Gong, who moved up to No. 3 singles, cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory against Reka Rohonyi.  UCI's dominance was all the more impressive considering the Lions had just come off of a 4-3 upset of No. 39 Long Beach State two days prior.

Gong is now 4-2 on the season in singles dual matches.

Others nominated:  Emilia Borkowski (Cal State Fullerton); Anna Yang (Cal State Northridge); Sarah Cantlay (Long Beach State); Iveta Masarova (Pacific)