WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University tennis program is splitting its men's and women's tennis head coaching responsibilities, director of athletics Lauren Haynie announced today.
With the decision, the current head coach of both programs Pauri Pandian, who just completed his third season at the helm, will continue as the head of the women's program. Associate head coach Christo Schultz, who just completed his fourth campaign with the program, will take over the men's position.
"This is a change that has been under consideration for some time," said Haynie. "With the quality of our current staff, it only made sense to be able to have each of them focus on an individual team in order to give our student-athletes the best possible experience."
Schultz, who joined the Brandeis staff in 2018, has helped Brandeis tennis to a pair of NCAA tournament berths. Under previous head coach Ben Lamanna, he guided the women's team to their first-ever berth in 2019. Under Pandian, he was part of the second men's berth in program history in 2021, when the Judges reached the national quarterfinals. Since Schultz's arrival, Brandeis men's tennis players have earned a total of six All-America awards. Both the Brandeis men and women have earned Top-10 rankings from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) during his tenure.
Schultz is a 2015 graduate of Harvard, where he was a first-team All-Ivy League selection and was ranked 14th nationally by the ITA. As a junior, he was ranked as high as No. 1 in New England and No. 16 nationally.
Schultz will take over a men's team that went 12-6 last year, with four of their six defeats by a 5-4 score, and finished the season ranked 23rd in Division III. The Judges finished in fifth place in the University Athletic Association. They lose three seniors to graduation, including All-Americans Jeffrey Chen and Adam Tzeng, who went to the NCAA Division III Doubles title match as juniors, but return three other All-UAA selections.
"I am thrilled to accept this great opportunity to lead Brandeis Men's Tennis as head coach," Schultz said. "Pauri and I have consistently worked hard together to add value to Brandeis tennis as a whole. This transition allows us to to take the next step towards bringing each program to new heights. I want to thank Pauri for his leadership and guidance over the past three years that we have worked together. I also want to thank Lauren Haynie for the constant work she has done in support of our program and Brandeis Athletics as a whole. I look forward to advancing the process that has allowed Brandeis Men's Tennis to grow into prominence."
Pandian was named the ITA Northeast Region Men's Coach of the Year in 2021, when he helped the Judges to their best season in program history, going 9-2 with a berth in the final eight of the Division III tournament. He was also named the ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year for the men and Northeast Coach of the Year for the women in his first stint with the Judges in 2015.
Pandian helped a young Brandeis women's team with just one senior starter and no juniors finish 6-13, sixth in the UAA, in 2022. They were ranked #40 in Division III in the final national poll released by the ITA, with first-year player Bhakti Parwani ranked 26th in the singles rankings and Parwani and doubles partner Sabrina Loui ranked 20th. The Judges saw four of their losses come by 5-4 scores, with another 5-3 defeat in the UAA fifth-place match.
"I am incredibly excited for this change," said Pandian. "While I will miss coaching the men's team, I am excited at the opportunity for both Christo and me to dedicate ourselves fully to our respective teams. This aligns us with the upper echelon of Division III teams who have made this change. It is truly a transformational moment for Brandeis Tennis."