Richmond, VCU Nab Under Armour Men’s Tennis Weekly Awards; VCU, Fordham Earn Women’s Accolades

4/21/2026 5:22:03 PM

WASHINGTON — The Atlantic 10 Conference tabbed Richmond junior Cole Brashear as its Under Armour Men’s Tennis Player of the Week, while VCU freshman Patrick Petera was selected as Rookie of the Week. VCU senior Sofia Jane Thorne claimed the Women’s Tennis Player of the Week award and Fordham freshman Valerija Kargina earned Rookie of the Week honors. The league announced the awards on Tuesday for matches played from April 13 to April 19.
 
Brashear turned in a strong week for the Spiders, going 2-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles while leading Richmond to three victories. The Las Vegas native delivered the match-clinching point in a 4-2 win over Fordham at No. 6 singles, defeating Diego Cueto 6-2, 6-0 after partnering with Davis Wiley for a 7-5 doubles win. He added a 6-1, 6-1 singles victory against Hampden-Sydney’s Dillon McReynolds on Court 2.
 
Patera went undefeated this weekend on Courts 1 and 5, conceding just five games in singles play. The Prague, Czech Republic product defeated Duquesne’s Arnau Anton Garcia 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 5 slot, taking down Saint Joseph’s Sehaj Singh Pawar 6-1, 6-1 at the same position. He also earned a 6-3 doubles victory against Duquesne alongside teammate Gevorg Mnatsakanyan, as the Rams beat the Dukes 4-1 and beat Saint Joseph’s 4-0.
 
Thorne went 4-0 over the week while leading VCU to victories against Duquesne and Saint Joseph’s. The Northbridge, Australia native defeated Duquesne’s Naomi Lalonde 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 1 position, before defeating Saint Joseph’s Wiktoria Czerny 6-1, 6-0 at the same spot. Thorne earned two doubles victories on Court 2 alongside Andrea Magallanes as well – 6-2 against Duquesne and 6-1 against Saint Joseph’s.
 
Kargina made the most of her limited opportunities last week, earning a No. 3 singles win and No. 2 doubles win against Rhode Island. The rookie from Riga, Latvia defeated Sophie Herman 6-1, 6-1 and teamed with Lily Chitamber to clinch the doubles point with a 7-5 triumph.
 
WEEKLY AWARDS
DATE MEN'S PLAYER WOMEN'S PLAYER MEN'S ROOKIE WOMEN'S ROOKIE
Jan. 21 Mats Bredschneijder, VCU Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando, VCU Jakob Gaudreau Barnes, SJU Viktoria Lackova, VCU
Jan. 27 Santiago Valle, SJU Savannah Kollock, DAV Damir Abdusamadov, SJU Keri Rothenberg, DAV
Feb. 3 Kyle McNally, UD Wiktoria Czerny, SJU Edgar Vilain, GM Kajsa Helgesen, URI
Feb. 10 Kyle McNally, UD Nikki Fernando, URI Rishi Dore, UD Kajsa Helgesen, URI
Feb. 17 Deniz Okyay, GM Emmerson White, SLU Edgar Vilain, GM Viktoria Lackova, VCU
Feb. 24 Ernesto Ruy, SJU Sofia Jane Thorne, VCU Sehaj Singh Pawar, SJU Sara Montano Parada, SBU
March 3 Kyle McNally, UD Grace Darcy, URI Connor Cole, DAV Kajsa Helgesen, URI
March 10 Davis Wiley, UR Lucy Webber, UR Nathan Germino, UR Baby Jordan, UD
March 17 Davis Wiley, UR Paola Dalmonico, FOR Nathan Germino, UR Valerija Kargina, FOR
March 24 Davis Wiley, UR Andrea Magallanes, VCU Edgar Vilain, GM
Rishi Dore, UD
Victoria Lackova, VCU
March 31 Kyle McNally, UD Sophie Herman, URI
Abby Lee, UR
Rishi Dore, UD Beatriz Guerra, UR
April 7 Santiago Valle, SJU Tamara Bachmann, SBU Dilraj Singh Dillon, SBU Sara Montano Parada, St. Bonaventure
April 14 Erwann Bouchet, VCU Nevena Kolarevic, FOR Rishi Dore, UD Valerija Kargina, FOR
April 21 Cole Brashear, UR Sofia Jane Thorne, VCU Patrick Patera, VCU Valerija Kargina, FOR