LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men's tennis junior David Cierny has been named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, April 24. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.
 
The junior from Zvolen, Slovakia, went 4-0 across singles and doubles play last week at the Mountain West Championships as Utah State posted a 4-1 win against seventh-seeded UNLV in the quarterfinals, before losing to third-seeded New Mexico, 4-3, in the semifinals. 
 
Against the Rebels, Cierny partnered with junior Bodin Zarkovic for a 6-4 win at the first doubles position and posted a straight-sets win at No. 2 singles over UNLV's Jordan Sauer, 6-2, 6-3. In the semifinals versus the Lobos, Cierny again teamed with Zarkovic for a 6-4 win at the first doubles position and posted another straight-sets win at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 6-1, over New Mexico's Rafael Abdulsalam. Cierny closed the 2022 dual match season on a three-match winning streak in both singles and doubles play.
 
Fans can follow USU's men's tennis team on Twitter @USUMensTennis, on Facebook at /UtahStateMensTennis or on Instagram at USUMensTennis.  Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
 
Nominees from other sports for USU Student-Athlete of the Week included:
GOLF – Freshman Esteban Jaramillo (Bogota, Colombia) tied for ninth with a 54-hole career-best 4-under-par 212 (74-70-68) to led Utah State to a ninth-place finish with a 19-over 883 (293-299-291) at the 2022 Mountain West Championship, held in Bremerton, Washington. Jaramillo fired a 4-under 68 during his final round to record USU's first individual top-10 finish in a conference championship since 2007. Jaramillo had three birdies and one eagle during his final round, and was one of 11 golfers to card an eagle during the three-day tournament.
 
SOFTBALL – Sophomore second baseman Zaia Castruita (Chula Vista, California) led the Aggies with three RBIs as Utah State went 0-4 last week with a 3-2 loss at Utah Valley, followed by three-straight Mountain West home losses to Boise State (L, 4-8; L, 2-10; L, 0-6). At UVU, Castruita went 2-for-3 at the plate, including a double and one run scored. In Game 1 against the Broncos, Castruita recorded a three-run homer to right center to give USU an early 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first. Castruita finished the week batting .273 (3-of-11), including one double and one home run, while scoring two runs and drawing one walk. Defensively, she had 10 putouts and 10 assists during the week.
 
WOMEN'S TENNIS – Junior Zeynep Naz Ozturk (Istanbul, Turkey) posted a straight-sets victory at No. 5 singles (6-3, 6-2) in Utah State's 4-2 loss to sixth-seeded Wyoming in the opening round of the 2022 Mountain West Championships.
 
MEN'S TRACK & FIELD – Junior Spencer Nelson (Hyrum, Utah) placed sixth in the 5,000 meters last weekend at the Stanford Invitational with a time of 13:48.09, which is the third-best time in school history.
 
WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD – Junior Tori Bailey (Herriman, Utah) placed seventh in the discus with a mark of 52.26 meters (171-5), eighth in the shot put with a mark of 13.92 meters (45-8.00) and 16th in the hammer with a mark of 51.55 meters (169-1) last weekend at the Fresno State Invitational. Her distance in the discus ranks third all-time in school history.
 
2021-22 America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week Winners
Aug. 30 – Ashley Cardozo, Soccer
Sept. 6 – Deven Thompkins, Football
Sept. 13 – Sammie Murdock, Soccer
Sept. 20 – Tenzi Knowles, Soccer
Sept. 27 – Bodin Zarkovic, Men's Tennis
Oct. 4 – Caleb Garnica, Men's Cross Country
Oct. 11 – Kennedi Boyd, Volleyball
Oct. 18 – Savon Scarver, Football
Oct. 25 – Sara Taylor, Soccer
Nov. 1 – Katie Haviland, Women's Cross Country
Nov. 8 – Deven Thompkins, Football
Nov. 15 – Justin Bean, Men's Basketball
Nov. 22 – Justin Bean, Men's Basketball
Nov. 29 – Logan Bonner, Football
Dec. 6 – Logan Bonner, Football
Dec. 13 – Adryana Quezada, Women's Basketball
Dec. 20 – Nick Heninger, Football
Dec. 27 – Justin Bean, Men's Basketball
Jan. 3 – Justin Bean, Men's Basketball
Jan. 10 – Rebecca Wells, Gymnastics
Jan. 17 – Brie Clark, Gymnastics
Jan. 24 – Adryana Quezada, Women's Basketball
Jan. 31 – Steven Ashworth, Men's Basketball
Feb. 7 – Brandon Horvath, Men's Basketball
Feb. 14 – Devin Pancake, Men's Track & Field
Feb. 21 – Brie Clark, Gymnastics
Feb. 28 – Manna Mensah, Women's Basketball
March 7 – Shyla Latone, Women's Basketball
March 14 – Bodin Zarkovic, Men's Tennis
March 21 – Rebecca Wells, Gymnastics
March 28 – Gabriella Jimenez, Softball
April 4 – Kapri Toone, Softball
April 11 – Gia Malone, Women's Track & Field
April 18 – Katie Haviland, Women's Track & Field
April 25 – Maia Garren, Women's Track & Field
May 2 - David Cierny, Men's Tennis
 
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