WALTHAM, Mass. – Three Brandeis student-athletes have been selected as University Athletic Association Athletes of the Week for Sept. 22. Rookie Emily Bryson of Quincy, Mass., and sophomore Ryan Stender of Amherst, Mass., were honored for women’s and men’s cross country, while junior Brian Granoff of Miami, Fla., was chosen for men’s tennis. This is the first career UAA Athlete of the Week honor for all three.
Bryson and Stender helped the Brandeis cross country teams to victory at the 2015 UMass Dartmouth Invitational. For the second week in a row, each was the top runner for their respective squads. Bryson finished fifth out of 315 runners in the women’s race, third among Division III competitors. Her time of 18:09.84 over five kilometers put her three seconds out of the top three in the race. With five of the top 20 runners, the Judges defeated 41 others teams and easily outdistanced second-place East Stroudsburg, a Division 2 school, 49-79. The team's spread was just 43 seconds from first to fifth.
Since 2002, the Judges have had three runner-up finishes at UMass Dartmouth, including in their NCAA season two years ago, but this is their first win since 2001.
Stender was fourth overall out of 324 runners on the men’s side, completing the five-mile course in 25:20.20. He was second among Division 3 runners by two seconds and seven seconds out of first place overall. Stender was the Judges’ top runner for the second race in a row. Brandeis defeated 42 other squads, also beating D2 East Stroudsburg, 93-116. The Judges had five of the top 33 runners with a spread of 1:01.
The team’s finish was Brandeis's best at UMass Dartmouth in more than a decade, with their best recent placement second in 2011. They have won the meet four times previously, but not since 1991.
Granoff was one of three Brandeis men's tennis players to reach the second day of play at the Middlebury Invitational this past weekend, making it all the way to the 'A' flight finals in his third trip to the tournament.
Granoff overcame Tufts' Rohan Gupte in a marathon opening match, 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 in a third-set super tiebreaker. In the second round, he rolled past Kit Sanderson of Skidmore, 6-4, 6-2, making him the only player not from the home team to reach the final four.
In the semfinals, Granoff faced Middlebury All-American Ari Smolyar, and defeated the top seed on his home court. After edging Smolyar in a tiebreaker, 7-4, to win the first set, 7-6, Granoff cruised to the win in the second, 6-1. The Brandeis player was unable to take down a second-straight Panther player, bowing in the finals to Noah Farrell, 6-0, 6-3. Granoff was the first Judge to reach a final at the Middlebury Invitational since 2010.
Bryson is a 2015 graduate of North Quincy High School.
Stender is a 2014 graduate of Amherst Regional High School.
Granoff is a 2013 graduate of Gulliver Prep School.
For more information on Brandeis Athletics, please visit brandeisjudges.com or follow us on Twitter or Instagram @brandeisjudges, or follow us on Facebook.
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