TUCSON, Ariz. - Jay Friend has claimed Arizona's first Big 12 weekly honor after being named the Men's Tennis Player of the Week Tuesday afternoon. 

The honor comes after a successful weekend for Friend, where he went 4-0 in dual match play against Loyola Marymount and No. 25 Pepperdine.

Last week, Friend rose to a career-high of No. 5 in the ITA National Singles rankings. In his first match of the weekend, Friend played in the court one position. Against LMU's Nothhaft/Cruz, Friend and his doubles partner Eric Padgham dominated the court with a 6-2 win, finishing first. In singles play, the junior won in straight sets against Nothdurft 6-2, 6-4.
 

On Sunday, Arizona faced off against No. 25 Pepperdine. Playing the court two position, Friend went 2-0 once again. In doubles play, the deciding point came down to Friend and Padgham, who went game for game to 4-4 before rising and winning 6-4. The win secured the doubles point for the Cats, playing a pivotal role in Arizona's 4-0 win over the Waves by giving Arizona the 1-0 lead.

In singles, Friend faced off against All-American and No. 32 Maxi Homberg. After winning the first set 6-3, Friend came back from a 2-5 deficit in set two, holding off Homberg for three set points to win the next give games and avoid a split. Jay finished second in singles, 6-4, 7-5, giving Arizona the 3-0 lead.

After this weekend, Friend leads Arizona, alongside Colton Smith, being 7-0 in singles play and 6-0 and doubles play. He has yet to see a third set this spring, with all seven of his singles wins being in straight sets.