Photo by: Ohio State Athletics
Ohio State Men’s Tennis Sweeps B1G Weekly Awards
9/30/2026 4:29:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Nikita Filin and Ilija Palavestra were named the B1G Player of the Week and B1G Freshman of the Week for the first time this season.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Big Ten Conference announced junior Nikita Filin and sophomore (redshirt freshman) Ilija Palavestra as the recipients of the men's tennis weekly conference awards.
Filin was named the B1G Player of the Week, while Palavestra earned B1G Freshman of the Week honors. This marks the second week in a row an Ohio State athlete has been named B1G Freshman of the Week, with Denis Petak earning the honor to open the season.
This marks Filin's third time being named the Big Ten Player of the Week in his collegiate career (Sept. 24, 2025; Feb. 4, 2026). He earned the honor this week after his performance at the ITA All-American Championships, where he went 5-0 in doubles and 3-1 in singles. Filin claimed the ITA All-American Championship doubles title and All-American honors with Brandon Carpico without dropping a set the entire tournament. Carpico and Filin are the first Buckeyes to win this title since JJ Tracy and Robert Cash in 2023.
Filin's singles run was highlighted by a top 15 ranked win over No. 15 Amirkhamza Nasridinov of Texas A&M and reaching the tournament's quarterfinals to qualify for the NCAA Singles Tournament in November.
Palavestra was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the first time in his career after his performance at the Fighting Irish Mini Duals over the weekend. At the mini duals, Palavestra went undefeated in both singles and doubles (2-0; 2-0) against opponents from Northwestern and Notre Dame. Palavestra did not drop a single set over the weekend, including playing doubles with Alex Fuchs.
Up Next
The Buckeyes are participating in the Columbus Challenger this week that is being hosted at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. The tournament will take place until Sunday, Oct. 4, with matches starting around 10 or 11 AM ET every day.
Filin was named the B1G Player of the Week, while Palavestra earned B1G Freshman of the Week honors. This marks the second week in a row an Ohio State athlete has been named B1G Freshman of the Week, with Denis Petak earning the honor to open the season.
This marks Filin's third time being named the Big Ten Player of the Week in his collegiate career (Sept. 24, 2025; Feb. 4, 2026). He earned the honor this week after his performance at the ITA All-American Championships, where he went 5-0 in doubles and 3-1 in singles. Filin claimed the ITA All-American Championship doubles title and All-American honors with Brandon Carpico without dropping a set the entire tournament. Carpico and Filin are the first Buckeyes to win this title since JJ Tracy and Robert Cash in 2023.
Filin's singles run was highlighted by a top 15 ranked win over No. 15 Amirkhamza Nasridinov of Texas A&M and reaching the tournament's quarterfinals to qualify for the NCAA Singles Tournament in November.
Palavestra was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the first time in his career after his performance at the Fighting Irish Mini Duals over the weekend. At the mini duals, Palavestra went undefeated in both singles and doubles (2-0; 2-0) against opponents from Northwestern and Notre Dame. Palavestra did not drop a single set over the weekend, including playing doubles with Alex Fuchs.
Up Next
The Buckeyes are participating in the Columbus Challenger this week that is being hosted at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center. The tournament will take place until Sunday, Oct. 4, with matches starting around 10 or 11 AM ET every day.
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