UC Irvine senior Ryan Cheung and Cal State Fullerton freshman Alexis Valenzuela sparkled in singles to claim Big West Men's and Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors.

Cheung Helps UC Irvine Climb Back To .500

Senior Ryan Cheung (Irvine, Calif./University HS) helped UC Irvine to a perfect 5-0 record en route to Big West Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week honors.

Cheung won four of five matches in both singles and doubles during a busy week that saw the Anteaters climb back to the .500 mark at 9-9.

He raised his overall singles record to 7-10 with the four wins, including two that went the full three sets.  He dispatched Ethan Dunbar of Richmond, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 to help UCI beat the Spiders, 4-3.  Cheung also knocked off Penn’s Nikola Kocivic in a 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (5) nailbiter as UCI toppled the Quakers by a 5-2 score.

Cheung and partner Jonathan Poon went 4-0 at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, and the duo is 6-0 together this season.

Others nominated: Cooper Bridge (UC Riverside); Chas Okamoto (Hawai‘i)

Valenzuela Extends Win Streak In Singles To Nine

Alexis Valenzuela (West Covina, Calif./West Covina HS) extended her winning streak in singles to nine straight matches as the Cal State Fullerton freshman notched Big West Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week accolades.

Valenzuela romped to a 6-3, 6-1 victory against Furman’s Alex Moreno-Kaste.  She then outlasted Shani Blecher of San Diego, 6-4, 4-6, 10-5 to improve to 10-3 on the year at singles.  Valenzuela also owns an 8-5 record in dual doubles matches.

Others nominated: Holly Reid (Long Beach State); Melissa Kobayakawa (UC Davis); Kat Facey (UC Irvine); Jasmine Almaguer (UC Riverside); Cindy Nguyen (Hawai‘i)