Olsen Wins POTW, Four Huskies Earn Rankings

SEATTLE – Astrid Olsen has won her first Pac-12 Women’s Tennis Player of the Week honor, the conference announced today, giving Washington three wins in the past four weeks. Olsen was also one of four Dawgs to appear in this week’s ITA singles poll, matching a program record last achieved in 2003.
 
Speaking of 2003, that was also the last and only other time the now 25th-ranked Huskies defeated both UCLA and USC in Pac-12 play before doing so this past Friday and Sunday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
 
In the 4-3 victory over the Bruins, Olsen had a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 win over 64th-ranked Ava Catanzarite, and also contributed a 6-3 doubles win with Jennifer Kerr. Sunday, the Huskies backed it up with a 5-2 win over the Trojans, which Olsen capped off with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win over then-No. 43 Snow Han. They were the two highest-ranked wins of the season for Olsen, the junior from Norway.
 
Those wins helped propel Olsen up to No. 77 in the newest installment of the national singles rankings. She is currently 10-3 in dual singles play, all at the No. 3 spot, and 18-4 overall on the year.
 
Also ranked this week is Sarah-Maude Fortin, who clinched the win over USC with an upset of then-No. 24 Eryn Cayetano. Fortin now checks in at No. 105. Hikaru Sato remains ranked at No. 110, and Jennifer Kerr is ranked No. 120.
 
Also debuting in the rankings for the first time is freshman Zehra Suko, who has moved to No. 1 doubles with Sato. Suko and Sato are ranked 65th nationally this week.
 
As a team, the Dawgs moved up one spot to a season-high No. 25.
 
This is Olsen’s first Pac-12 Player of the Week award in her first full season getting to compete for the Dawgs after an injury kept her out most of 2022.
 
The two prior Player of the Week awards for the Huskies this season both came from Hikaru Sato.
 
Washington (10-3, 2-0 Pac-12) is off this week before resuming conference play at home against the Arizona schools on Mar. 17/19.

2023 PAC-12 MEN’S & WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK