Ohio State and Northwestern Capture Tennis Weekly Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced its men’s tennis weekly awards for matches played January 30-February 1, 2026.

Player of the Week
Nikita Filin, Ohio State
So. – Glenview, Ill.

• Clinched match points in No. 6 Ohio State’s wins over No. 5 Texas (4-1) and No. 1 Wake Forest (4-0) at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center
• Went 4-0 overall on the weekend, winning every match in straight sets
• Captured wins at No. 5 singles and No. 6 singles respectively, helping the Buckeyes move up to No. 2 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll
• Joined forces with Brandon Carpico to record a pair of wins at No. 2 doubles; the 2025 NCAA Doubles finalists improved to 19-3 on the season
• Earns his second Player of the Week Award of the season (and career), having previously been honored on Sept. 24, 2025

Freshman of the Week
Cooper Han, Northwestern
Fr. – Los Altos, Calif.

• Helped Northwestern to a 3-0 record last weekend — highlighted by a 6-1 win at Alabama — as the Wildcats are off to their best start to a dual season since 2022
• Compiled a 3-0 overall mark, recording two singles wins in straight sets and teaming with Chad Miller for a 6-1 doubles win versus Xavier
• Won 31-of-39 games (.795) which included a 6-0, 6-0 singles win over Chicago State
• Becomes the first Northwestern player this season to win a men’s tennis weekly award
• Last Wildcat named Freshman of the Week: Vincent Yang (March 5, 2025)

2025-26 Big Ten Men’s Tennis Player of the Week
Sept. 17       
P: Ozan Baris, Sr., MSU
F: Adam Jilly, Fr., ILL

Sept. 24       
P: Nikita Filin, So., OSU

Oct. 1          
P: Aidan Kim, Jr., OSU
F: Sam Olszakowski, ORE

Oct. 8          
P: Nicholas Steglehner, Sr., MICH
F: Arnav Bhandari, Fr., MICH

Oct. 15        
P: Sam Landau, Sr., IND
F: Jeri Lassila, Fr., NEB

Oct. 22        
P: Spencer Johnson, Jr., UCLA
F: Max Dahlin, R-Fr., MICH

Nov. 5         
P: David Saye, Sr., MSU

Nov. 12       
P: Jack Anthrop, Sr., OSU
F: Max Dahlin, R-Fr., MICH

Jan. 14         
P: Bjorn Swenson, Sr., MICH
F: Max Exsted, Fr., USC

Jan. 21         
P: Alex Okonkwo, Jr., OSU
F: Sasha Colleu, Fr., ILL

Jan. 28         
P: Alexander Bernard, Sr., OSU
F: Jeri Lassila, Fr., NEB
F: Max Exsted, Fr., USC

Feb. 4          
P: Nikita Filin, So., OSU
F: Cooper Han, Fr., NU