LOGAN, Utah — Utah State gymnastics senior Brianna Brooks has been named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, April 7. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.
With its sponsorship of the Student-Athlete of the Week, America First Credit Union donates funds directly to support student-athlete scholarships.
Brooks had a career outing at the NCAA Regional Championships last weekend as she tied her season high on bars with a 9.900 to tie for first on the event. That score is tied for the third best on bars at an NCAA Regional meet in school history.
The native of Las Vegas, Nevada represented USU at the California Regional in Session I of the second round and was one of five gymnasts to score a 9.900 on bars. Overall, Brooks was one of 27 competitors on the event.
This competition concluded the season for gymnastics as Brooks lost the tiebreaker to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
For more information on the Utah State gymnastics program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUGymnastics, on Facebook at UtahStateGymnastics and on Instagram at USUGymnastics.
Nominees from other sports for USU Student-Athlete of the Week included:
GOLF – Junior Julio Arronte Sanchez (Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico) shot a 4-under 68 during his final 18 holes and finished the tournament tied for 45th at 1-under 215 (72-75-68) at the Wyoming-hosted Cowboy Classic, which was held in Maricopa, Arizona, last week. For Sanchez, it is his fourth-career under-par finish, including his third this year. Furthermore, his final round of 68 was his fifth round in the 60s this season and in his career. USU tied for 17th-place in the 23-team field.
MEN'S TENNIS – Freshman Mohammad Alkotop (Amman, Jordan) posted a straight-sets win at No. 6 singles (6-3, 6-4) to break a 3-3 tie and give Utah State a 4-3 Mountain West home win against Boise State last weekend. Alkotop also teamed with junior David Martirosian for a 6-1 at the third doubles position.
WOMEN'S TENNIS – Freshman Niyati Kukreti (Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India) was leading in both of her matches last week against UNLV before they were left unfinished as USU lost to the Rebels 4-0. At No. 6 singles, Kukreti was tied at one set a piece and was leading the third set before. And in doubles play, Kukreti was teamed up with fellow freshman Magdalena Nunez Pureco at the third position and held a 5-4 advantage.
SOFTBALL – Sophomore catcher Grace Matej (Orangevale, California) led Utah State to a 2-3 record last week as the Aggies fell on the road to Utah (L, 9-1 (5)), swept Nevada (W, 6-5 (9); W, 5-4) and was swept at Fresno State (L, 9-1 (5); L, 6-0). Matej began the week by going 0-for-2 against Utah, then had a 3-for-5 performance at the plate with a run scored and a 2-for-3 performance with one RBI in the two games against Nevada. She followed that by going 0-for-2 with a walk in the first game at Fresno State, then went 1-for-3 in the second game against the Bulldogs. In total, Matej hit .400 (6-for-15) on the week with one walk, one run scored and one RBI. She also recorded 17 putouts with three assists.
MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD – Junior Kelton Chenworth (North Edwards, California) ran the final leg of Utah State's 4x100-meter relay that won the event with a time of 42.74 at the Weber State Spring Open last weekend.
WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD – Senior Abbey Bryant (Santa Clarita, California) was part of the 4x100-meter relay team that finished second at the Weber State Spring Open with a time of 47.75. Bryant also placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.35.
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 Capllonch, Volleyball
Oct. 2 – Bodin Zarkovic, Men's Tennis
Oct. 9 – Cooper Legas, Football
Oct. 16 – Tatum Stall, Volleyball
Oct. 23 – Bodin Zarkovic, Men's Tennis
Oct. 30 – Julio Arronte Sanchez, Golf
Nov. 6 – Whitney Lopez, Soccer
Nov. 13 – Tatum Stall, Volleyball
Nov. 20 – Cheyenne Stubbs, Women's Basketball
Nov. 27 – Levi Williams, Football
Dec. 4 – Great Osobor, Men's Basketball
Dec. 11 – Mason Falslev, Men's Basketball
Dec. 18 – Ian Martinez, Men's Basketball
Dec. 26 – Darius Brown II, Men's Basketball
Jan. 8 – Great Osobor, Men's Basketball
Jan. 16 – Great Osobor, Men's Basketball
Jan. 22 – Logan Hammer, Men's Track & Field
Jan. 29 – Landon Bott, Men's Track & Field
Feb. 5 – Logan Hammer, Men's Track & Field
Feb. 12 – Mason Falslev, Men's Basketball
Feb. 19 – Ariel Fifita, Softball
Feb. 26 – Brennan Benson, Men's Track & Field
March 4 – Darius Brown II, Men's Basketball
March 11 – Darius Brown II, Men's Basketball
March 18 – Brianna Brooks, Gymnastics
March 25 – Ian Martinez, Men's Basketball
March 31 – Logan Hammer, Men's Track & Field
April 8 – Brianna Brooks, Gymnastics
