Western Kentucky senior Rachel Hermanova has been named the Conference USA Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.

It is the fifth weekly award the Lady Toppers have won this season, which more than doubles the previous record of CUSA weekly awards the program has received in a single season. It is the third CUSA Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week award the program has received this season, which is also a record, and it is the second week in a row WKU has had a player named the CUSA Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week.

“Rachel is very deserving of this great honor,” WKU women’s tennis coach Greg Davis said in a news release. “She’s improved in all areas since coming to The Hill and we are very happy for her success.”

Hermanova was part of the CUSA Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week with Sofia Blanco on March 5. Blanco has twice been named the CUSA Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week this season, including last week, and Mia Miranda and Emily Schut were named the CUSA Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week on Jan. 29.

Hermanova picked up a pair of wins to close out the regular season last week. The senior from Pardubice, Czech Republic, bounced back from a loss at Middle Tennessee on Tuesday with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Campbellsville’s Oriana Espinoza on Wednesday and a 6-2, 6-0 win over Alabama A&M’s Alicia Owegi on Thursday, all from the No. 1 position.

Hermanova wrapped up the regular season with a 13-7 record from the No. 1 position, and she now has 62 career singles wins, which is a program record. She also teamed up with Sofia Blanco to defeat Campbellsville’s Oriana Espinoza/Clara Asprella 6-0 on Wednesday and Alabama A&M’s Yana Dhamija/Alicia Owegi 6-2 on Thursday. Hermanova now has 30 career doubles wins, which is eighth-most in program history, and 92 combined career singles and doubles wins, which is second-most in program history.

WKU has now claimed 10 CUSA weekly awards under Davis. In addition to the CUSA weekly awards won this season, Cora-Lynn von Dungern was named CUSA Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week in 2020, Laura Bernardos claimed the award in 2021, Hermanova won it in 2023, and both Blanco and Sayda Hernandez were CUSA Women’s Tennis Athletes of the Week during the 2024 season.

The Lady Toppers closed the regular season last week with a 15-9 overall record, which is tied for the third-most wins in a single season in program history. WKU will begin play in the CUSA Women’s Tennis Championship on Thursday with a noon CT match against Louisiana Tech at the Liberty Tennis Complex in Lynchburg, Virginia.