Fayetteville, N.C. - The USA South Athletic Conference has released its weekly awards for March 24th, and for the second straight week and third time overall, Wesleyan's Natalia Lopez and Elias Kerem of tennis were named the league's Rookies of the Week. Additionally, in a first for Bishop tennis, Lopez was tabbed the conference's Player of the Week as a freshman.

Women's Tennis Player & Rookie of the Week
Natalia Lopez, N.C. Wesleyan - The freshman from Maracaibo, Venezuela earned a 3-0 record at #1 singles and a 2-1 mark at #1 doubles last week for the Bishops versus USA South competition. Lopez earned singles wins over opponents from Piedmont, Covenant and Greensboro, while in doubles action, she teamed with two separate partners to collect wins over Covenant and Greensboro. With the victories, Lopez remains undefeated in singles play and has yet to surrender a set this season.

Men's Tennis Rookie of the Week
Elias Kerem, N.C. Wesleyan - The freshman from Stockholm, Sweden earned a 3-0 singles record and a 3-1 doubles mark last week for the Bishops. In singles play, Kerem collected two wins at the #4 slot over opponents from USA South rival Piedmont and nationally-ranked Bates. He also tallied a win at the #3 position versus conference foe Covenant. In doubles, Kerem collected three wins over USA South opponents from Piedmont, Covenant and Greensboro.

Congratulations Natalia and Elias!