DALLAS – Kennesaw State’s Ema Baraniakova and Jax State’s Marko Milosavljevic have been named Conference USA’s Tennis Athletes of the Month for the second month in a row following an impressive fall stint. 
 
CUSA Women's Athlete of the Month – Ema Baraniakova, Kennesaw State – Sr. – Leopoldov, Slovakia
Baraniakova finished the fall season with a 16-1 singles record and 10-3 doubles record with partner Adela Zingorova. She went 5-1 against Power Four opponents including victories over Florida’s Capucine Jauffret in the ITA Regional Main Draw of 64, Tennessee’s Audrey Aulia, North Carolina’s Ishika Ashar, Georgia Tech’s Taly Licht and Michigan’s Laura Rahnel. The senior was named the UTR Sports NCAA Division I Invitational “A” bracket singles champion and remained undefeated in singles play at both the UTR Invitational and the Rome Tennis Center Invite. Baraniakova’s lone singles loss of the fall came in a 4-6, 2-6 decision vs. No. 77 Jantje Tilbuerger of UCF. With Zingorova, the pair became the first doubles team in program history to reach the ITA Regional quarterfinal. They secured a notable 8-7 (7-5) win over Georgia's pair of Anastasiia Gureva and Nadia Lagaev.
 
CUSA Men’s Athlete of the Month - Marko Milosavljevic, Jax State – Sr. – Vosendorf, Austria
Milosavljevic continued his impressive fall campaign with a quarterfinal appearance at the ITA Southern Regional Championships hosted by Auburn. Milosavljevic opened tournament play with a straight-set victory over William Ribero of Louisiana. In the second round, he faced Auburn's Joseph Phillips where he delivered a win in a tightly contested match (7-6, 7-5) to advance to the Round of 16. Facing Jules Caby of South Alabama, Milosavljevic turned in his most dominant performance of the tournament, winning with a 6-2, 6-3 final to secure his spot in the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinal round, the senior faced Ole Miss's Vlado Jankanj, ultimately falling 6-2, 6-4 to bring his tournament run to an end. As one of the final eight players in the ITA Southern Regional Championships, Milosavljevic qualified for the ITA Sectionals, making him the first Gamecock to ever qualify for sectionals through regional play. He continued his impressive fall with four singles victories, and two doubles wins at the Rome Tennis Center Collegiate Invitational in Rome, Georgia. He opened with a straight-set victory over Tennessee's Alan Bojarski (6-4, 6-2) before knocking off LSU’s Nikolas Stoot (6-1, 7-6). He secured another straight-set win (6-1, 6-2) over Georgia's Oliver Sanders, then capped off his singles performances with a hard-fought victory over Mississippi State's Diego Duran after battling in a three-set contest to earn a 6-0, 3-6, 10-8 win. Not only did Milosavljevic shine in singles, but he also teamed up with David Krasner to collect two doubles victories against Tennessee. The Gamecock duo defeated Shion Itsusaki and Woodson McMillin (6-4) before cruising past Jose Garcia and McMillin (6-1).
 
2026 CUSA Women’s Tennis Athletes of the Month
Sept.    Ema Baraniakova, Kennesaw State
Oct.      Ema Baraniakova, Kennesaw State
 
2026 CUSA Men’s Tennis Athletes of the Month
Sept.    Marko Milosavljevic, Jax State
Oct.      Marko Milosavljevic, Jax State