MURFREESBORO, N.C. – Throughout the 2025-2026 Chowan Athletic season, the Chowan Athletic Department will feature the Ace Hardware Student-Athletes of the Week. For the week of January 7 – January14, Wisdom Banks of the women's basketball team and Aleksei Belolipetskii of the men's swimming team, have been recognized for their standout performances over the past week of competition.

Wisdom Banks put together an outstanding three-game stretch for the Hawks over the week, providing consistent scoring and strong two-way play in all three contests. She opened last week with 12 points against Mount Olive, shooting an efficient 6-8 from the field while adding one steal, two assists, and two rebounds. Banks followed that performance with an even stronger outing against North Greenville this past weekend, finishing with 16 points on 6-9 shooting, going 4-4 from the line, adding three steals, three assists, and eight rebounds. She capped the week with a career night performance against UNC Pembroke, leading all scorers with a career-high 22 points on 10-15 shooting. In that contest, Banks also recorded four steals, five rebounds, and two assists while going 2-3 from the free-throw line. Her offensive efficiency, defensive activity, and consistency across three games were instrumental for the Hawks throughout the week.

Aleksei Belolipetskii delivered a strong all-around performance for the Hawks in this past weekend's swim meet against Virginia Wesleyan University and Barton, playing a key role in multiple top finishes. Belolipetskii captured individual victories in both the 50-yard breaststroke (27.65) and the 100-yard IM (54.24), highlighting his speed and efficiency in the pool. He also contributed to Chowan's success in relay events, swimming on the Hawks' 200-yard medley relay and helping the team earn a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. His consistency in both individual races and relays underscored his importance to the Hawks' lineup and made him one of Chowan's top performers of the meet.

Ace Hardware Student-Athletes of the Week
Sept. 4 –  Maurice Smith (FB) | Isaiah Fulton (FB)
Sept. 18 – Riley Donnelly (WSOC) | Jeevan Purewal & Cameron Letterlough (MSOC)
Sept. 25 – Diana Rodriguez (VB) | Laura Hulme (WSOC)
Oct. 2 – Malique Frazier (FB) | Demarcus Carroll (FB)
Oct. 9 – Diana Rodriguez (VB) | Kylee Smith (WSOC)
Oct. 16 – Vanja Romic (WSWIM) | Robert Cabrera (MSWIM)
Oct. 23 – Chance Lassiter (MGOLF) | Destiny Makanjuola (WSOC)
Oct. 30th – Anna Holcombe (VB) | Cameron Letterlough (MSOC)
Nov. 13th – Jack Beylo (FB) | Dimitrije Markovic (MSWIM)
Nov. 20th –  Daneesha Briggs (WBB) | Damien Robinson (MBB)
Dec. 11th –  Yasmine Brown (WBB) | Damerius Summers (MBB)
Dec. 18th – Nyeisha Savage (WBB) | Markell Hollis (MBB)
Jan. 15th – Wisdom Banks (WBB) | Aleksei Belolipetskii (MSWIM)