Edles the main man in Big West Conference

UC Irvine women’s tennis head coach Mike Edles has been named Big West Coach of the Year after guiding the Anteaters to a 21-4 record heading into the NCAA Championship.

Edles helped guide UCI to a perfect 7-0 record against Big West opponents to win the Big West regular season championship.

The 2007 Anteaters are the first team in the 23-year history of the Big West Conference to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship.

The 21 wins this season is the fourth highest in school history and the most since 1983. This is the third time that Edles has won the award after winning it previously in 2000 and 2002.

Junior Becky Bernhard was named All-Big West first team in singles for the second straight season after going 6-1 in the Big West at the No. 1 singles slot. Bernhard also earned All-Big West first-team honors in doubles along with her teammate, sophomore Clare Fermin.

Junior Inna Agababian was named All-Big West second team in singles and All-Big West second team honors in doubles along with junior Jessica Broadfoot.

Bernhard and Agababian had previously won All-Big West honors in both singles and doubles.

These are the first career honors for Fermin and Broadfoot.

— From staff reports