Feb. 5, 2013

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Alexis Heugas of VCU and Melissa Kandinata of Richmond have been named the Atlantic 10 Conference Men's and Women's Tennis Performers of the Week, respectively, the league announced Tuesday, for matches played January 28 - February 3. George Washington's Danil Zelenkov and Xavier's Alex Brinker picked up Rookie Performer of the Week honors.

MEN'S TENNIS PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Alexis Heugas, VCU
Junior | Jurancon, France

Heugas led the Rams to its sixth team victory of the season, partnering with freshman Dylan McCloskey to upset the nationally ranked duo of Moritz Buerchner and Norbert Nemcsek (#20) of North Florida (8-4). The junior then defeated Buerchner (#72) from the number one singles spot (6-0, 7-5) to secure the 5-2 victory in the Rams' only match of the week.

MEN'S TENNIS ROOKIE PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Danil Zelenkov, George Washington
Freshman | Skopje, Macedonia

Zelenkov picked up singles and doubles victories last week, lifting GW to its first win of the season and handing a tough East Carolina squad its first loss, 4-3. The regionally ranked (#9 Atlantic) duo of Zelenkov and Nikita Fomin picked up their second consecutive win against Damien Brenard and John Schmitt in the second doubles spot before Zelenkov earned a straight set victory over Brenard from the third singles position (6-4, 6-2).

WOMEN'S TENNIS PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Melissa Kandinata, Richmond
Sophomore | Cary, N.C.

Kandinata posted a near perfect performance last week defeating Marta Pinyol of Longwood (6-0, 6-0) to earn her first victory of the spring season. The sophomore paired with senior captain Alex Smyth to add a dominant doubles win against Malin Allgurin and Sarah Moomau (8-1), securing Richmond's first team win this spring.

WOMEN'S TENNIS ROOKIE PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Alex Brinker, Xavier
Freshman | Granger, Ind.

Brinker picked up her third consecutive singles win on the season with straight set matches over Carly Peck of Dayton (6-0, 6-1) and Nimisha Mohan of Miami, Ohio (6-3, 6-2). Brinker also posted two wins with partner Allyson Westling in her first doubles action this season, leading the Musketeers to a 12th straight win against conference rival, Dayton, and was crucial in beating Ohio, 4-3. The rookie's only loss this season has come to nationally ranked Rebecca Shine (#62) of Louisville.