ATLANTA--A 5-0 start in singles play powered Georgia State men's tennis junior Thomas Cook to the first Sun Belt Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Week award this season.

Cook, a native of nearby Lilburn, Ga., has clinched three Georgia State (4-1) victories with singles wins this season and is the only player on the team that remains undefeated in singles play. All of his five victories have come at the No. 2 position.

Cook began the season by sealing GSU's 5-2 win at Chattanooga in its regular-season opener with a 6-2, 6-3 win vs. Roberto Vieira, an all-conference honoree last season. He then clinched an important 4-3 win over No. 62-ranked North Florida with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, victory. His come-from-behind win against UNF's Norbert Nemcsek was the lone match taking place and earned GSU its first win at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in program history. Most recently, Cook clinched a 5-2 Georgia State victory vs. Samford last Sunday with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 win against Elliot Barnwell.

Cook, an All-Conference Second Team Singles honoree last year, has also found success in doubles with three wins this season. He has paired with freshman Paul Schuette and freshman Andrew Zedde in doubles play.

Georgia State swept the weekly honors from the Sun Belt Conference this week. Junior Abigail Tere-Apisah on the Georgia State women's tennis team earned the women's award. She owns a victory over a nationally-ranked opponent and two regionally-ranked opponents to begin the season.

Georgia State, led by first-year head coach Joerg Barthel, is back in action this weekend with two matches at the Blackburn Tennis Center. The weekend begins on Saturday with a 1 p.m. match against local-rival Georgia Southern. The Panthers conclude the weekend slate with a 10 a.m. match on Sunday vs. Nicholls State.

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