Senior Alex Slovic was named Pac-10 tennis player of the week for winning three out of his four doubles and singles matches this weekend against California and Stanford. This is the second time this season he has been given the award and the third time that a player from the UW has received the honor in the two years it has been in existence.

"It's exciting for Alex, and for us as a team," Washington coach Matt Anger said. "The timing is especially good because Alex has had some ups and downs this season, and lately he's definitely been playing better. Both of his wins this weekend were very good."

The wins that Anger is referring to came against some of the best college players in the country. In Friday's match against Cal, Slovic breezed to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Pierre Mouillon, the No. 27 singles player in the nation. Then on Saturday, Slovic notched his 90th career singles victory with a battle against Stanford's Matt Bruch, the 2006 Pac-10 singles champion. Undaunted after losing the first set in a tiebreaker, Slovic held steady to take the second set, then fought hard in a third-set super tiebreaker to emerge with a 6-7 (3), 6-4, 1-0 (11-9) victory.

Slovic has been a standout in college tennis since he first came to Washington. He had an immediate impact in his first year, finishing the season as the highest-ranked freshman in the nation at No. 27 and was named the International Tennis Association National Rookie of the Year.

Although he has had some problems with injury since then, Slovic has continued to prove himself as one of the best men's tennis players in Husky history. He is fifth on the career singles win list at Washington, and along with partner Daniel Chu, holds the record for all-time doubles wins.

"Alex's understanding of the game has really grown," Anger said. "He hits the ball better, and he has a variety of shots. Although unfortunately his ability to practice and do conditioning has been hampered by injury issues, when his body is good, he's as good as any college player."

Reach reporter Risa Pavia at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.