ROSEMONT, Ill. - For a second-straight week, a Purdue women's tennis player has been named the B1G Athlete of the Week with Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum collecting this week's accolade, the conference office announced Tuesday. It is the first time in program history that the Boilermakers have earned the honor in consecutive weeks and the 16th overall. Daniela Vidal captured the honor last week for the Old Gold & Black.
At Northwestern on Sunday, Bernard-Feigenbaum came home victorious in doubles and singles for the third time in four spring duals. The junior, teamed with Vidal at No. 1 doubles, opened the dual with an 8-6 win over the 50th-ranked Wildcat duo of Alicia Barnett and Brooke Rischbieth. The veteran pair improved to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the top spot for Purdue while winning their first match as a ranked pair.
Bernard-Feigenbaum then squared off against Erin Larner in the No. 2 singles slot. She took the first set, 7-6 (5), from Larner and she returned the favor in the second, 6-2, to even the match at 1-1. Bernard-Feigenbaum asserted herself in the third set, winning 6-3. The win lifted the New York, N.Y., native to 6-1 on the year and 3-1 as the No. 2 player.
Despite a 4-3 loss to Northwestern, the Boilermakers (2-2) improved one spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's team rankings released Tuesday, from No. 33 to 32.
After being unranked in the preseason (9/8) and first regular season edition (1/6) of rankings, Bernard-Feigenbaum and Vidal made their debut on the doubles poll on Feb. 10, checking in at No. 24. It is the highest regular season ranking for a Purdue doubles team since Brooke Beier and Mallory Voelker were listed 20th on Jan. 9, 2007. Bernard-Feigenbaum and Vidal own a combined fall and spring record of 18-3.
Bernard-Feigenbaum previously was named B1G Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week as a freshman on Feb. 20, 2013.
| 2015 B1G WOMEN'S TENNIS ATHLETES OF THE WEEK | ||||
| Date | Name | Year | School | |
| Jan. 20 | Ronit Yurovsky | Jr. | Michigan | |
| Jan. 27 | Erin Larner | Fr. | Northwestern | |
| Feb. 3 | Emina Bektas | Sr. | Michigan | |
| Feb. 10 | Daniela Vidal | Sr. | Purdue | |
| Feb. 17 | Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum | Jr. | Purdue | |