WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University seniors Ezra Bernstein of Buffalo, N.Y., and Marianne Specker of South Windsor, Conn., been named to the Capital One Division III Academic All-District team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA). Both will now be eligible for Academic All-American honors.
Bernstein, a member of the men’s tennis team, carried a perfect 4.00 grade-point average in biology into his final semester. This is his first Academic All-District selection. Bernstein went 4-13 in singles action and 6-11 in doubles for the Judges. In a 5-4 loss to 24th-ranked Trinity College on April 17, he earned two of the Judges’ four points, earning an 8-5 win in doubles and a 7-5, 4-6, 10-5 win at No. 4 singles, taking the third set in a super tie-breaker. For his career, Bernstein recorded 35 wins (13 singles, 22 doubles) in three years after transferring from SUNY-Buffalo. Academically, Bernstein earned three Academic All-University Athletic Association selections, earned Dean’s List every semester and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He served as a teacher’s assistant for organic chemistry. Bernstein will be attending medical school next fall.
Specker, who earned Capital One Academic All-District and All-America first-team honors last year, had an outstanding year for the Brandeis softball team. She was a first-team All-UAA selection as an infielder and a third-team All-New England selection. She finished tied for the UAA lead with 41 RBI and was among the top five in the league in batting average (.401) and hits (59) as well. Specker finished among the Judges’ career top 10 in hits (184, 3rd), games played (166, 4th), games started (161, 4th) RBI (111, 4th), total bases (242, 6th) and doubles (34, 8th). In the classroom, she finished with a 3.92 GPA in psychology headed into her final semester. Specker was also a Phi Beta Kappa member and vice president of Brandeis’s chapter of the Psi Chi psychology honor society. She was a seven-time Dean’s List and three-time Academic All-UAA selection who was named Brandeis’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Specker will attend Boston University’s Ph.D program in sports psychology next year.
Bernstein is a 2007 graduate of City Honors School.
Specker is a 2008 graduate of the Westminster School.