DALLAS – Liberty’s Rafael Marques Da Silva and FIU’s Ekaterina Khairutdinova were tabbed Conference USA Tennis Athletes of the Week, the league announced Wednesday. The weekly awards are presented by Blenders Eyewear.  
 
CUSA Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week – Rafael Marques Da Silva, Liberty, Sr., Sao Paulo, Brazil
No. 111 Marques Da Silva garners Athlete of the Week honors after leading No. 49 Liberty to a 5-2 triumph over No. 42 Old Dominion. The senior from Brazil began his day with a 6-4 victory over ODU’s Jakob Cadonau and Connor van Schalkwyk with doubles’ partner Thando Longwe-Smit. He followed that performance by beating No. 83 Connor van Schalkwyk (7-6, 6-4) in the No. 1 singles match to extend his three-match singles win streak.
 
CUSA Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week – Ekaterina Khairutdinova, FIU, So., Krasnodar, Russia
Khairutdinova won all four of her singles matches in straight sets last week to continue No. 25 FIU's 11-match winning streak. The sophomore picked up two wins at No. 2 singles and two at No. 1 singles. She helped to clinch the doubles point with wins at No. 2 doubles against ETSU and UTSA.
 
2024 CUSA Men’s Tennis Athletes of the Week
J17         Jakub Kroslak, MTSU
J24         Shu Matsuoka, MTSU
J31         Luis Felipe Miguel, Liberty
F7          Ondrej Horak, MTSU
F14        Demis Taramonlis, MTSU
F21        Deji Thomas-Smith, Liberty
F28        Marcel Kamrowski, MTSU
M6        Leo Raquin, MTSU
M13      Igor Mandou Berranger, MTSU
M20      Rafael Marques Da Silva, Liberty
 
2024 CUSA Women’s Tennis Athletes of the Week
J17         Ana Rodrigues, LA Tech
J24         Olga Bienzobas, LA Tech
J31         Oyinlomo Quadre, FIU
F7          Polina Ramenskaja, Jax State
F14        Maria Juliana Parra Romero, Liberty
F21        Katerina Mandelikova, FIU
F28        Serafima Shastova, Jax State
M6        Alexia Romero, LA Tech
M13      Sofia Blanco, WKU
M20      Ekaterina Khairutdinova, FIU