Irvine, Calif. -- Men's tennis player Nico Mertens earned Big West Athlete of the Week for the second time in his Anteater career.

The senior from Hilden, Germany had a stellar performance in singles against Fresno State and UC Davis. Mertens stepped up in the No. 1 spot coming back from a one set deficit to defeat Fresno State's Nikolas Papic 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to help UC Irvine in a 4-3 victory last Thursday.

Despite a close contest and 4-3 loss against No. 74 UC Davis last Saturday, Mertens made quick work at flight one defeating nationally ranked No. 108 Alec Adamson in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 and improving his overall singles record to 10-7.

UC Irvine begins the Big West Championship today (April 27) in the first round as the fourth seed taking on UC Riverside at 9:00 a.m. at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif.  Tournament Bracket

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