UCLA women’s tennis player Mayu Crossley has been recognized with both the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week awards, becoming the first athlete this season to receive both honors at once.
Crossley’s recent performance during a trip to Northern California contributed to her selection. She secured victories against two top-20 singles opponents as UCLA, ranked 17th nationally, split its matches against No. 16 California on January 30 and No. 11 Stanford on January 31. Crossley also played a key role in securing a doubles point for her team.
In the match against California, Crossley defeated Berta Passola Folch—last fall’s NCAA singles runner-up and currently ranked ninth—by scores of 5-7, 6-2, 6-0. This result reversed an earlier loss she had suffered against Passola Folch in an individual tournament.
The following day, UCLA achieved a 7-0 win over Stanford. Crossley and fellow freshman Kayla Chung came back from being down 0-4 in their doubles match to clinch the opening point with a 6-4 victory, improving their weekend record to one win and one loss. In singles play, Crossley extended UCLA’s lead by defeating No. 18 Alyssa Ahn with scores of 6-3, 6-1.
These weekly honors are the second each for UCLA during the current season; Ahmani Guichard previously earned Player of the Week recognition on September 24, while Crossley was named Freshman of the Week on November 12. Additionally, Crossley has reached a career-best ranking of No. 37 in Wednesday’s ITA singles rankings.
“She is the first player to accomplish the feat this season.”
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