Butler’s Brennan, DePaul’s Clousing Earn Final #BEtennis Weekly Awards
NEW YORK – Butler freshman Thomas Brennan and DePaul senior Keisha Clousing secured the final regular season BIG EAST Tennis Athlete of the Week accolades. The two recipients helped their respective teams earn No. 2 seeds in this week’s BIG EAST Tennis Championship presented by Jeep in Cayce, S.C. The Bulldog men won a pair of close matches against Marquette and DePaul over the weekend, while the Blue Demon women were victorious over Villanova and Creighton. Clousing takes home her second honor of the season, and Brennan captures his first.
BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week
Thomas Brennan, Fr., Butler (Dublin, Ireland)
Brennan guided the Bulldogs to a 2-0 weekend with 4-3 wins over Marquette and DePaul. His two comeback singles wins helped Butler edge both opponents. Brennan prevented the Golden Eagles from clinching after they were up 3-0. He defeated Luke Smrek 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 to keep Butler alive in a pivotal singles match at No. 2. Against the Blue Demons, Brennan was able to put the Bulldogs within a point at 3-2 after he outdid Boris Spanjaard, 7-5, 7-5 for the win on the No. 2 court.
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week
Keisha Clousing, Sr., DePaul (Wheaton, Ill.)
Clousing went 4-0 and propelled the Blue Demons to triumphs over Villanova and Creighton during the past weekend. She partnered with Lenka Antonijevic to help DePaul clinch the doubles point 6-4 at No. 1 versus Villanova. Clousing won in straight sets over Lexi DeNucci, 6-0, 6-0 in the top singles spot. DePaul came out on top 4-3. Her momentum continued against Creighton, taking the win at No. 1 doubles, 6-2, alongside Antonijevic. Clousing finished her weekend, dropping just one game in singles play after she was victorious over Ashley Ishimura, 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 1 spot. DePaul won 6-1 against the Bluejays.