UC Irvine newcomer Bjorn Hoffmann picked up the first Big West Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week award helping his team to 1-1 record in season-opening competition.

Hoffmann, a grad transfer from Cal, made his UCI debut at the top of the lineup in singles and doubles.

He helped the Anteaters to a 4-3 victory at Loyola Marymount in the season opener. His 7-5, 6-4 win over Diego Nava tied the match at 2-2. Hoffmann also teamed with doubles partner Bruce Man-Son-Hing to defeat Nava and Daniel Moreno in a tight 7-6 (3) battle.

Hoffmann then put up a strong fight against USC’s Riley Smith, the 19th ranked singles player in the country. The Newport Beach native fell 6-3, 6-4 to Smith.

In doubles, the Hoffmann/Man-Son-Hing pairing had USC’s top doubles pair on the ropes, as they held a 5-3 lead before ultimately falling 7-5. UCI fell by a 4-0 score to the top-ranked Trojans.

OTHERS NOMINATED: None