COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Sophomore Dean O'Brien, earned his first national ranking earlier this season and now has his first conference award.

As announced by the OVC office today, No. 112 in the most recent ITA poll, O'Brien has been named the OVC Men's Tennis Player of the Week. This is the first for the season and the first in his career.

O'Brien is 6-1 in singles this spring with a win over then No. 29 Clint Bowles of Florida State. For three weeks following, O'Brien moved up and earned the No. 113 ranking in the country. His only loss of the season came this past week to No. 12 Guillermo Gomez of Georgia Tech.

"Dean is the hardest working player I have coached," said coach Dan Silverstein. "He plays every point his hardest. He also makes his teammates that much better."

Not just a singles player, O'Brien is 5-1 in doubles including going 5-0 with teammate sophomore Josh Girling at the top singles spot. The duo picked up an 8-5 win over No. 61 Gomez and Ryan Smith of Georgia Tech.

Tech (2-5, 0-0) is currently playing at UT Chattanooga and will return home this weekend to open OVC play. Friday the Golden Eagles host Morehead State at 2 p.m. Saturday's match will see Tech playing UT Martin at 2 p.m. while Sunday Appalachian State will visit for the first time since 1987 with the match slated for 11 a.m.