WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis men's and women's tennis programs saw ten different student-athletes – four men and six women – named to the 2019 All-University Athletic Association teams today, while the coaching staff of Ben Lamanna and Christo Schultz were named the Coaching Staff of the Year for both the men's and women's teams. Leading the individual honorees was Adam Tzeng of Eagle, Idaho, who was honored as the men's UAA Rookie of the Year.
Lamanna and Schultz coached the Brandeis women to two of their finest seasons ever. Both squads were ranked among the top 10 in the nation during the season. The women reached #8 nationally, a program-best. They concluded their season this weekend by reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III tournament in their first-ever berth, defeating Penn State Abington and Skidmore College, both by 5-0 scores, before falling to regional host Wesleyan, 5-1. The Judges ended their season with a 14-8 record. The Brandeis men tied their program's best-ever ranking at #9. They finished with a 16-4 record, one win shy of the most in program history. The Judges finished second in the UAA, their highest since the conference went to a head-to-head tournament, and just missed out on the program's second-ever NCAA berth. This is the second time Lamanna has been honored by the UAA for men's tennis and the first for the women's team.
Tzeng posted a 14-9 singles record for the Judges, playing primarily at #3, while teaming with fellow rookie Jeffrey Chen of Northfield, Illinois, at #2 doubles to post a 14-1 mark. Tzeng also went 7-1 with different partners during the fall tournament season to finish at 24-2 in doubles action. He was 11-6 in singles during the spring dual-match season, tied for second-best on the team. Tzeng and Chen both earned second-team All-UAA sports at #3 and #4 singles and at #2 doubles. Chen posted a 17-4 record in singles action, going 5-1 at #4 and 7-0 at #5 with one win at #1 during the dual-match season for a team-best 13-1 mark. Tzeng shared UAA Rookie of the Year honors with Joshua Xu of Chicago.
For the second year in a row, the men's #1 doubles team of junior David Aizenberg of Highland Park, Illinois, and sophomore Anupreeth Coramutla of Monroe Township, New Jersey, were first-team All-Association honorees. The pair went 10-7 against some of the toughest competition in Division III this season and were alternate selections to the NCAA Division III Doubles tournament. Aizenberg, who also earned second-team All-UAA honors in doubles as first-year, also claimed a spot as a first-team All-UAA member at #1 singles. He went 9-7 against the top opposition each opponent had to offer and was leading in two UAA matches that were unable to finish. Coramutla was a second-team All-UAA selection at #2 singles, going 11-6 in dual matches to tie Tzeng for the second-best record on the team.
On the women's side, the Judges also had a first-team All-Association #1 doubles team. Senior Olivia Leavitt of Falmouth, Maine, and sophomore Lauren Bertsch of Middletown, Rhode Island, were second-team honorees a year ago and land on the first team in 2019. They posted a 13-8 record as a tandem at the #1 spot and were 5-2 during the fall season for an 18-10 overall record. The two went 2-1 in the NCAA tournament. Leavitt, who also earned second-team All-UAA honors at #1 doubles as a sophomore, also added her first All-UAA singles honor, earning a berth on the second team for #2 singles. Leavitt was 10-6 this season in the second spot.
Leavitt was joined on the All-UAA singles second team by junior Diana Dehterevich of Minsk, Belarus, who was the team's #1 player, and senior Keren Khromchenko of Manalapan, New Jersey, who was the #3 player. Dehterevich went 7-7 for the Judges at the top spot, while Khromchenko – a second-team All-UAA selection as a sophomore – was a team-best 11-5 this season at #3.
The Judges also got an honorable mention for the #3 doubles team of rookie Ana Hatfield of Rockford, Illinois, and senior Sophia He of Poughkeepsie, New York. The tandem had a team-best 16-5 record this season in dual matches, including wins in two of three NCAA tournament matches.