LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men's tennis' Bodin Zarkovic has been named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, Oct. 1. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel. 

With their sponsorship of the Student-Athlete of the Week, America First Credit Union donates funds directly to support student-athlete scholarships. 

The fifth-year senior posted a perfect record in singles play last week at the ITA Mountain Regional in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as he became the third Aggie in program history to reach the finals and is the first-ever Aggie to win the tournament.  

This is Zarkovic's second fall tournament win in a row as he went undefeated in singles play last week at the Air Force-hosted Bedford Cup in the Mountains.  

The native of Belgrade, Serbia, began the regional competition defeating UNLV's Skinner Creed 6-3, 6-2, and went on to record a 6-3, 6-4 straight-set win against Air Force sophomore AJ Moore. He then took his round of 16 match in a 6-3, 6-1 straight-set victory.  

In the quarterfinals, Zarkovic posted a third-set victory against Denver graduate student Marvin Schaber in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win, after which his semifinal match was won via walkover of BYU's Jack Barnett due to the university's Sunday play observance policy.  

In the finals of the main draw, Zarkovic completed a comeback win over Arbizu after falling short in the first set, 3-6. The Aggie then held Arbizu scoreless in the second set and went on to take the title with a 6-3 third-set victory. 

Utah State men's tennis will continue its fall tournament season at the Idaho State Invitational beginning Friday, Oct. 6 through Sunday, Oct. 8 

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 Ashton McArthur (Rexburg, Idaho) tied for ninth (out of 83 golfers) at the Fresno State Invitational last week, leading the Aggies to a sixth place finish out of 14 teams. The career-best 9-under 204 (66-67-71) he shot over the two days is tied for sixth all-time in school history for the lowest 54-hole score. After the first two rounds of the invitational, McArthur was at 9-under 133, which is tied for third all-time in school history for the lowest 36-hole opening score. He is the first USU golfer to accomplish that feat since Jay Don Blake did it in 1980-81 at the Sun Bowl All-America Golf Classic at the El Paso (Texas) Country Club. McArthur led the Aggies in pars (36) and par-4 scoring (-7, 3.79 average), and tied for the team lead in both birdies (12) and eagles (1). 

FOOTBALL – Junior wide receiver Jalen Royals (Powder Springs, Georgia) had a career-high 185 receiving yards and a career-best three touchdowns (15, 71, 52) on a career-high tying seven receptions in Utah State's 34-33 win at UConn last weekend. Royals is the first Aggie with three touchdown receptions in a game since 2015 and is first Aggie to have multiple touchdown scores of at least 50 yards in the same game since 2018. Furthermore, his receiving yards are the most by an Aggie since 2021. 

SOCCER – Senior defender Kylie Olsen (Logan, Utah) helped Utah State to a 2-0 Mountain West record last week with home wins against Colorado State (1-0) and Wyoming (2-1). Against the Rams, Olsen delivered the 90th minute strike to secure a 1-0 win as she fired a right-footed laser into the top left corner of the net from 20 yards out, sneaking it just past the outreached diving fingertips of CSU's keeper. Against the Cowgirls, Olsen helped the Aggies get off to a strong start as she scored in the 11th minute after putting a ball that was mishandled by the Wyoming keeper into the back of the net. These were the first two goals of Olsen's 66-game career.  

WOMEN'S TENNIS – Freshman Niyati Kukreti (Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India) brought home a singles title from the Colorado State-hosted John Messick Invitational last weekend. Kukreti recorded a 6-4, 6-3 straight-set win in the first round and then had a third-set tiebreaker win in the quarterfinals. Kukreti posted a 6-2, 7-6 straight-set semifinal win and earned the singles title of the Green Draw as her opponent withdrew due to injury.  

VOLLEYBALL – Graduate outside hitter Shelby Capllonch (Honolulu, Hawaii) led the Aggies with 33 kills as Utah State posted a 1-1 Mountain West record last week with a 3-1 win at New Mexico and a 3-2 loss at Air Force. Against the Lobos, Capllonch led the Aggies with a season-best 20 kills, becoming the first Aggie to reach the 20-kill mark this season. She added eight digs, four service aces, two blocks and an assist. Against the Falcons, Capllonch recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 13 kills and a team-high 13 digs. She also added two assists and one service ace. For the week, Capllonch had 33 kills, averaging 3.67 per set, 21 digs, averaging 2.33 per set, five service aces, three assists and two blocks. 
 
2023-24 America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week Winners 
Aug. 28 – Shelby Capllonch, Volleyball 
Sept. 4 – Adna Mehmedovic, Volleyball 
Sept. 11 – Jaiden Francois, Football 
Sept. 18 – Diera Walton, Soccer 
Sept. 25 – Shelby Capplonch, Volleyball 
Oct. 2 – Bodin Zarkovic, Men's Tennis 
  
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