LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. — Caltech senior Kyle McCandless (Lexington, Mass. / Lexington) received SCIAC Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 26, the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced on Monday. The talented player received the distinction for his superb play in the Beavers' exciting Wednesday clash against Washington and Lee University.

McCandless picked up a monumental victory in first singles as the senior defeated the No.-8 ranked singles player in the nation for Division III. It was the first singles victory against a nationally-ranked foe for McCandless, who himself ranked No. 45 nationally in the most recent rankings.

The Massachusetts native played excellently in the first set, picking up a critical game at 5-6 to push to a tiebreak; there, the senior secured the 7-5 tiebreaker victory to go up one set to none. It was all McCandless in the second set as he earned a dominant 6-1 victory to earn the 7-6 (5), 6-1 win.

In doubles, the standout won five games alongside fellow senior Daniel Wen (McLean, Va. / Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology); the duo ranked No. 20 in the nation in the most recent doubles rankings.

The team will continue to take on nonconference competition throughout the month of March before taking on SCIAC opponents in April. Find the full Men's Tennis schedule here.

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