Feb. 26, 2013

LOS ANGELES - The UCLA tennis programs swept Pac-12 Player of the Week honors on Tuesday, as both Marcos Giron and Kyle McPhillips were honored by the Conference for their outstanding play last week.

Giron, from Thousand Oaks, Calif. posted clinching singles victories in a pair of UCLA wins last week, helping the men's tennis team improve to 11-1 on the season. With UCLA's match against No. 2 USC on Friday tied at 3-3, Giron came from behind to post a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) victory over 10th-ranked Emilio Gomez at No. 2 singles, giving the Bruins a 4-3 win. Not only did Giron battle back after losing the first set, he managed to notch a crucial break with Gomez serving for the match up 5-3 in the third set. Giron had also fallen to Gomez in three sets the week before at the National Team Indoors. Against Saint Mary's on Sunday, UCLA owned a 3-1 lead until Giron downed Joakim Norstrom, 7-5, 6-0 at the No. 2 position to clinch the victory for the Bruins. Giron and teammate Dennis Novikov also posted a victory in doubles in that match. Giron leads the team in singles wins, owning a 21-5 overall record. He is 8-2 in dual matches.

McPhillips, from Willoughby, Ohio, recorded the clinching singles victory in UCLA's 4-3 win over No. 7 Cal on Friday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif. With Friday's UCLA-Cal showdown tied at 3-3, McPhillips downed No. 113 Klara Fabikova, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 at court No. 3 to give UCLA the crucial road win. Against No. 30 Saint Mary's on Sunday in Moraga, Calif., McPhillips was leading Danielle Flores, 4-1 in the third set when play was suspended after UCLA clinched the 4-0 victory. She teamed with fellow freshman Catherine Harrison in doubles against the Gaels, winning 8-0 over Jade Frampton and Audrey Leitz at court No. 3. McPhillips, who is ranked No. 42 nationally, is 16-4 overall in singles and 5-0 in dual matches. The UCLA women are 8-1 overall and currently ranked No. 3 in the nation.

2013 Pac-12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week
Jan. 22 - Slim Hamza, Utah
Jan. 29 - Emilio Gomez, USC
Feb. 5 - Max de Vroome, USC
Feb. 12 - Dennis Novikov, UCLA
Feb. 19 - Yannick Hanfmann, USC
Feb. 26 - Marcos Giron, UCLA

2013 Pac-12 Women's Tennis Player of the Week
Jan. 22 - Sabrina Santamaria, USC
Jan. 29 - Giuliana Olmos, USC
Feb. 5 - Lacey Smyth, Arizona
Feb. 12 - Danielle Lao, UCLA
Feb. 19 - Lacey Smyth, Arizona
Feb. 26 - Kyle McPhillips, UCLA