WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis assistant tennis coach Pauri Pandian has been named by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as the Division III National Men's Assistant Coach of the Year.

      Pandian, in his fourth season coaching the Judges alongside head coach Ben Lamanna, was previously selected as the Northeast Regional Assistant Coach of the Year for both the men and women's teams. He has helped Brandeis to national rankings in each of the past three seasons, with the women (11-10) peaking at No. 25 this year and the men (9-11) reaching No. 27. Both squads finished sixth in the University Athletic Association, a conference that sent three men and four women's teams to the NCAA Division III tournament.

      In his tenure, Brandeis has produced 13 UAA Athletes of the Week, 11 second-team All-Association honorees and 33 Academic All-Association honorees. He also coached the University's first All-American on the women's side, senior Carley Cooke of San Diego, Calif., and the first Brandeis male selected to the NCAA Individual tournament in two decades in sophomore Brian Granoff of Miami, Fla.

      "During his four years, Pauri has been an instrumental part of our success," Lamanna said. "By creating a winning culture, developing our players, and recruiting.  He has been the ultimate teammate to me.  Everybody loves working with him in the athletic department, and he will be a great head coach in the future."

      Pandian is the second Brandeis tennis assistant coach to earn National Assistant of the Year honors, joining Payum Payman in 2011.