WALTHAM, Mass.- Three Brandeis University student-athletes have been selected as University Athletic Association (UAA) Athletes of the Week. Kyle Brenner of Brookfield, Mass., of the baseball team was selected as the Pitcher of the Week, while classmate Carley Cooke of San Diego, Calif., was named the women's tennis Player of the Week. Sophomore Julian Cardillo of Medford, Mass., was honored for as Men's Fencer of the Week.
Brenner, a right-hander, was impressive last week in his first two collegiate starts, tossing a pair of complete games and earning two of the Judges' four wins as they competed at the Russ Matt Invitational in Winter Haven, Fla. Against Augustana (Ill.) on Feb. 20, after the Judges had suffered a 12-0 loss in the opener of a doubleheader, he scattered nine hits over seven innings in the second game, a 3-1 Brandeis win. Brenner struck out three, walked two and had two pickoffs. In a 3-2 win over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Feb. 26, he tossed nine innings of nine-hit ball, again with three strikeouts and two walks. After giving up two runs in the first inning, he allowed only two runners past second base the rest of the way, adding another pickoff to his arsenal. Brenner owns a 1.69 ERA after two games.
Cooke, playing No. 1 singles and doubles, went undefeated as the Brandeis women's tennis team went 5-0 on a trip to California. The 30th-ranked Judges had wins over two other nationally-ranked teams - 5-4 over #18 Chapman on Feb. 23 and 5-4 over #28 Redlands on Feb. 25. Cooke dropped only one set all week, a 6-2, 2-6, 10-8 win in a sweep of Occidental College. She also had a 6-3, 6-2 win over Chapman and 6-3, 4-2 (ret.) over Redlands. In doubles action, she teamed with junior Faith Broderick of Washingtonville, N.Y., for a 5-0 record, with three matches decided by 8-2 scores, along with 8-4 over Whittier on Feb. 24 and 8-5 over Redlands.
Cardillo, a foil fencer, was the top performer for the Judges at the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Championships at Vassar College on Feb. 25 and the U.S. Collegiate Squad championships at NYU on Feb. 26. Cardillo helped the foil squad to second place at New Englands with a 26-3 team record. The Brandeis men finished in second place in the team combined standings, while Judges were fifth in the six-weapon combined standings. Cardillo placed third overall in the individual foil competition. At the US Collegiate championships, he scored 16 of the team's 45 touches in a 45-43 upset by the 10th-seeded Judges over 7th-seeded Brown in the round of 16. He also had half of the squad's points in a 45-18 loss to second-seeded St. Johns in the quarterfinals.
Brenner is a 2010 graduate of St. Peter Marian High School and a 2011 graduate of Deerfield Academy. He is the son of Kerry and Jodi Brenner, Brookfield, Mass.
Cooke is a 2011 graduate of Point Loma High School. She is the daughter of Michael and Elysia Cooke, San Diego, Calif.
Cardillo is a 2010 graduate of St. Johns Prep School. He is the son of Antonio and Lucia Cardillo, Medford, Mass.