Damera named CUSA Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship recipient

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WKU ATHLETICS) – WKU Tennis student-athlete Sunskrithi Damera was named a recipient of Conference USA’s 2024 Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship, the league announced Thursday.

This year is the 16th the award has been named after Dr. Jim Castañeda, who served Rice for 46 years as an educator, coach, and Faculty Athletics Representative before he died in 2008. Every season, CUSA grants the $4,000 scholarship to distinguished graduates selected by the league’s Faculty Athletics Representatives and approved by the Conference USA Board of Directors. Damera is one of nine CUSA student-athletes to receive the scholarship this year.

“I’m happy for Sunskrithi for receiving the Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship. It shows the hard work she puts in consistently on and off the tennis court,” WKU Women’s Tennis Head Coach Greg Davis said. “Having worked with Jim Castañeda at Rice in my first college assistant coaching position, I was able to see firsthand how important he was to his program and university. It is an honor to have Sunskrithi receive this scholarship named in remembrance of him.”

Damera went 8-6 in singles play this spring and won both doubles matches she competed in as a senior. Damera went 4-2 at No. 5 singles and 4-3 at No. 6 singles, and claimed the clinching point in back-to-back 4-3 wins against Wyoming and UIC during the season. She won 12 singles matches during the spring of 2023 in her first season with the program after spending two years at Sam Houston.

The Hyderabad, India, native earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting this spring, graduating with a 3.88 GPA. Damera was named to the CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and earned the CUSA Commissioner’s Academic Medal during the 2023-24 academic year. She was also named an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2023.