IRVINE, Calif. – For the fifth time in his career, senior
Gianluca Brunkow has won Big West Men's Tennis Player of the Week. It is the second time he has received the honor this year, previously winning the week prior to February 12. With Raphaelle Leroux winning on the Women's side, UC Santa Barbara has swept both Tennis Player of the Week honors this week.
The 60th-ranked singles player in the nation—the best in the Big West—won all three of his completed singles matches last week. On Monday hosting UC Riverside, he made quick work in a 6-0, 6-1 win. On the road Wednesday at No. 23 Pepperdine, Brunkow clinched the Gauchos' 4-3 team victory with a thrilling 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback win on court one over No. 19 Edward Winter. Friday at UC San Diego, he took a 6-3, 7-5 victory before his Saturday singles match at No. 46 UC Irvine was unfinished due to the Gauchos swiftly winning their fourth, clinching point.
In doubles, Brunkow dropped his first two matches but posted wins in the latter two over the weekend. On court two in San Diego, him and
Lucca Liu were the only Gaucho pair to beat their Triton opponents, 6-3. The following day in Irvine, the same duo beat No. 74 Andy Nguyen/Noah Zamora 6-4 on court one to seal the doubles point for the Gauchos. Despite playing together just once this week, Brunkow and
Dominique Rolland remain the highest-ranked Big West pair at 57.
Brunkow has led the No. 34 Gauchos to a 16-3 overall record and a perfect 5-0 conference record. Just this week, as alluded to, he led the team to four wins in six days, including two on the road against ranked No. 23 Pepperdine and No. 46 UC Irvine.
With one final match hosting Cal Poly this weekend, the Gauchos have already clinched a share of their fourth straight Big West regular season championship, but can clinch it outright with a win. Thus, Brunkow will end his Gaucho career as a perfect four-time Big West regular season champion and be honored as the team's lone senior on Senior Day this year. The match is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Arnhold Tennis Center.
