Bowling Green, KY – For the eighth time in her career, Marina Nagai has been named Mid-South Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week after leading the No. 12 University of the Cumberlands women's tennis team to 2-1 week, highlighted by a strong showing against #2 Lindsey Wilson and two dominant team victories over Midway and Georgetown. This marks Nagai's first Player of the Week honor of the 2026 season. 

Against the second-ranked Blue Raiders, the Kanagawa, Japan native delivered one of the biggest wins of the match at the #1 singles position. After dropping the opening set 6-1, she rallied to defeat Mayra Gisone in three sets, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. The comeback victory accounted for one of Cumberlands' two points in the tightly contested matchup. 

Nagai continued her strong play later in the week during the Patriots' 7-0 sweep of Georgetown. She paired with Bryndis Rosa at #1 doubles to earn a 6-2 victory before returning in singles to dominate at the top flight, defeating Molly Archer 6-1, 6-0. 

On the week, Nagai went 2-0 in singles play, including a ranked win at #1 singles, while also contributing in doubles action as the Patriots improved to 12-4 overall on the season. 

With the honor, Nagai becomes the third Patriot to earn Mid-South Conference Player of the Week recognition this season and collects the eighth weekly award of her standout career. 

Nagai and the Patriots are back on the court on Friday, April 10, where they will host Bethel (Tenn.) for their final conference match of the regular season. Senior day festivities are scheduled for 12:30 PM, while the first serve is slated for 1:00 PM.   

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