University of Minnesota women’s tennis player Ashley Schellhas (Edina, Minn.) has been named the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Player of the Week after her outstanding play last weekend in matches against Northwestern and Wisconsin. This week’s honor is the first of Schellhas’ career.

A senior transfer from Vanderbilt, Schellhas starred for the Golden Gophers last weekend in matches at No. 9 Northwestern and arch-rival Wisconsin. Against the Wildcats, the unranked Schellhas defeated 29th-ranked Samantha Murray, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7), at No. 1 singles for one of two Minnesota singles wins in the dual. The victory was Schellhas' first this season over a ranked opponent. The next day at Wisconsin, Schellhas downed 23rd-ranked Caitlin Burke, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 1 singles. Schellhas' victory clinched the 4-3 win for Minnesota. With the two wins on the weekend, Schellhas’ singles record improved to 13-6 in duals this spring, including a 6-2 mark in Big Ten action.

Schellhas is the first Golden Gopher to claim the weekly selection since Nischela Reddy was honored on February 28, 2006.

Minnesota (10-9, 3-5 Big Ten) returns home this weekend to close out the regular season with duals against Purdue and Illinois on April 21-22. The Golden Gophers then host the 2007 Big Ten Women's Tennis Championship on Thursday-Sunday, April 26-29 at the Baseline Tennis Center. Admission is free to the conference tournament.