WALTHAM, Mass. - Four Brandeis University student-athletes have been selected as the University Athletic Association (UAA) Player of the Week for the week ending Sept. 14. Junior Lee Bloom of West Hartford, Conn., was honored for golf; sophomore Rachel Rosman of Bonita Springs, Fla., for women's tennis; sophomore Paige Blasco of Greeley, Colo., for volleyball; and rookie Sean O'Hare of Southampton, Mass., for men's soccer.
Bloom became the first Brandeis golfer to win the Bowdoin College Invitational this weekend with a one-over-par 145. Playing at the Brunswick Golf Course in Brunswick, Maine, Bloom shot the second under-par score of his collegiate career in the first round with a two-under 70, the low round of the tournament. He followed it up with a three-over 75 in the second round and won the tournament by four strokes over a competitor from Husson College. It was the first tournament victory of his career in a two-day meet. He had previously tied for first and lost medalist honors in a playoff at the Jack Barry Invitational last season. As a team, Brandeis had its best-ever finish at the Bowdoin tournament, finishing in third place with a team score of 634, behind regional power Husson and Division II St. Anselm College
Rosman captured the 'A' flight championship today as the Brandeis University women's tennis team finished in second place out of seven teams at the ECAC Open Women's Tennis Championships at Trinity College. Rosman breezed through the first two rounds of competition, dropping just three games in four sets against opponents from RPI and host Trinity. She then took a third-set super-tiebreaker from Sara D'Elia of Bowdoin College, 6-4, 1-6, 11-9. The Judges finished in second place overall at the tournament with 13.5 points, 5.5 points behind champion Bowdoin, which won the other four flights at the tournament.
Blasco, an outside hitter, led the Brandeis volleyball team to a 4-1 record, including 4-0 at their Brandeis Invitational, where she earned her first collegiate All-Tournament honor. In five matches last week, Blasco totaled 74 kills (4.35 kills per set) and had a .325 hitting percentage (74 kills and 21 errors in 163 total attacks), both team-highs, while also contributing 45 digs (2.65 digs per set), fourth-most on the squad. After a slow start in a 3-1 loss to Wellesley College on Sept. 9 (12 kills, 11 errors, .023 hitting percentage, 12 digs), Blasco hit better than .450 in her next three matches in the tournament. She hit .464 against Smith College (16 kills and three errors in 28 total attacks), .459 against Williams College (19 kills and two errors in 37 total attacks) with career highs in kills (19) and digs (12), and .485 against Trinity (Conn.) College (18 kills and two errors in 33 total attacks). In the final match of the week against Rhode Island College, Blasco had nine kills and three errors in 22 chances for a .273 percentage. Overall this season, Brandeis is 7-1.
O'Hare, a rookie goalkeeper, made three saves in the Judges' 3-1 victory over Babson College on Sept. 10 to earn his first collegiate win in his second start. He made two stops in the first 13 minutes of the game, then stopped a Babson forward from point-blank range in the 79th minute to preserve the tie as the Judges scored eight minutes later for the win. Brandeis owns a 3-1 record headed into tonight's contest with Colby-Sawyer College.
Bloom is a 2006 graduate of the Loomis Chaffee School. He is the son of Ronald and Cheryl Bloom, West Hartford, Conn.
Rosman is a 2007 graduate of Estero High School. She is the daughter of Jay and Cathy Rosman, Bonita Springs, Fla.
Blasco is a 2007 graduate of Frontier Academy. She is the daughter of Leon and Ellie Blasco, Greeley, Colo.
O'Hare is a 2008 graduate of Hampshire Regional High School. He is the son of Kevin and Suzanne O'Hare, Southampton, Mass.