Jan. 9, 2007

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara men's tennis players Jack Hui and Bijan Hejazi have been listed among the West Region's top-30 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's first rankings of the 2007 season, it was announced this week.

Hui, a junior transfer from College of the Desert, is ranked 23rd in the West Region in the ITA poll and Hejazi, a sophomore who earned First Team All-Big West and Big West Conference Freshman of the Year recognition in 2006, was ranked 25th. Only one other Big West player, UC Irvine's Shimpel Suzuki at 29th, was rated in the top-30.

The Gauchos, who open their 2007 spring season at home on Jan. 27 against BYU, are the defending Big West Champions. They finished the 2006 season ranked 72nd nationally and returned the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five seasons. UCSB is once again expected to be among the favorites to win the league in 2007.

Hui and Hejazi, who each had outstanding fall seasons, will be joined in the Gaucho lineup by senior Elad Stern, junior Anders Dalskov and freshman Philip Therp, a talented player from Birkeroed, Denmark. UCSB also returns several other key players.