Northwestern and USC Win Weekly Tennis Honors

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced its men’s tennis weekly awards for matches played April 1-7, 2026.

Player of the Week
Cyrus Mahjoob, Northwestern
Jr. – Rockville, Md. – Georgia (NCAA)

• Posted a 4-0 overall record to help Northwestern record its first conference weekend sweep of the season
• Clinched back-to-back match points for NU in wins over Purdue and No. 62-ranked Indiana
• Playing the decisive match on Sunday, rallied from a set down to defeat Indiana’s Sam Landau, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 1 singles
• Teamed with Ethan Schiffman to secure the doubles point against Purdue, then downed Henrik Villanger in straight sets at No. 2 singles to end the dual match
• Last Wildcat named Big Ten Player of the Week: Presley Thieneman (Feb. 14, 2024)
  

Freshman of the Week
Max Exsted, USC
Fr. – Savage, Minn. – Excel HS

• Upset No. 20-ranked Jack Anthrop in straight sets (6-1, 6-3) in USC’s 4-3 loss to top-ranked Ohio State on Sunday
• Secured match point with a win at No. 2 singles as No. 28 USC shutout Penn State, 7-0, on Friday
• Finished the week with a 3-0 overall record, winning 71.4 percent of his games played (30-12)
• Leads the team with seven conference singles victories and an 86.6 winning percentage (13-2) in overall singles play
• Earns his fourth Big Ten Freshman of the Week Award this season, having also been honored on Jan. 14, Jan. 28, and Feb. 25

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

Feb. 11
P: Max Dahlin, R-Fr., MICH
F: Max Dahlin, R-Fr., MICH

Feb. 18        
P: Jack Anthrop, Sr., OSU
F: Kyle Chesman, Fr., PSU

Feb. 25        
P: William Mroz, Sr., ILL
F: Max Exsted, Fr., USC

March 4       
P: Gabriel Debru, Fr., ILL
F: Adam Jilly, Fr., ILL

March 11     
P: Zach Viiala, R-So., ILL
F: Branko Djuric, Fr., USC

March 18     
P: Matthew Forbes, So., MSU
F: Adam Jilly, Fr., ILL

March 25     
P: Nikita Filin, So., OSU
F: Cassius Chinlund, R-Fr., UCLA

April 1         
P: Aristotelis Thanos, R-Sr., MSU
P: Emon van Loben Sels, R-Jr., UCLA
F: Kyle Chesman, Fr., PSU

April 8         
P: Cyrus Mahjoob, Jr., NU
F: Max Exsted, Fr., USC