FARMINGTON, Utah (Feb. 21, 2024) – Portland State's Momoko Yoshimura and Eastern Washington's Kelly Arends were awarded Big Sky Tennis Co-Player of the Week honors on the women's side, while Idaho State's Valentino De Pellegrin won conference laurels for the men's side to give his Bengal squad back-to-back weekly awards.
Men's Tennis Player the Week: Valentino De Pellegrin, Idaho State
Idaho State's Valentino De Pellegrin helped lead the Bengals to the program's first-ever win over a Pac-12 foe, after his squad downed Utah 4-1 over the weekend. De Pellegrin, who was named the Big Sky Freshman of the Year last season, picked a win in singles and doubles action, playing near the top of the order in both.
The sophomore won 6-2 with doubles partner Victor Sklenka in the No. 1 spot, before picking up a 6-1, 6-3 straight-set victory in singles play at the No. 2 position.
The weekly conference honor for De Pellegrin is the first of his career.
Women's Tennis Co-Player the Week: Momoko Yoshimura, PSU/Kelly Arends, EWU
Portland State's Momoko Yoshimura and Eastern Washington's Kelly Arends shared weekly honors following impressive wins for the pair.
Yoshimura won in doubles and singles play in Portland State's 4-3 victory over Montana State this past Saturday, winning alongside doubles partner Nika Beukers at the No. 2 spot before mounting a three-set comeback at the No. 4 position in singles.
Arends won a pair of singles matches that came over the course of two contests for EWU, with her first being a straight-set win against Montana and the next coming in a three-set victory versus her Utah State foe.
The weekly conference honors for Yoshimura and Arends are the first of their careers.
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Others Nominated
MT: No Others Nominated
WT: No Others Nominated
Past 2024 Winners
1/17: Max Relic, Montana State (MT)/Meg McCarty, Montana State (WT)
1/24: Mark Keki, Sacramento State (MT)/Hana Cho, Idaho State (WT)
1/31: Jordan Coutinho, Weber State (MT)/Lola O'Lideadha, Idaho State (WT)
2/7: Fernando Perez, Montana (MT)/ Angel Bean, Montana State (WT)
2/14: Wikus Robbertse, Idaho State (MT)/Patrycja Niewiadomska, Northern Arizona (WT)
2/21: Valentino De Pellegrin, Idaho State (MT)/Momoko Yoshimura, PSU & Kelly Arends, EWU (WT)