ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The Brandeis University women's tennis team outplayed their seed by two spots today, as the seventh-seeded Judges won a trio of three-set matches and a key doubles tiebreaker to defeat fifth-seeded Case Western Reserve, 4-3, in the fifth-place match at the 2025 University Athletic Association tournament.
TEAM RECORDS
- Brandeis, 11-7, ranked #33 in Division III by Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
- CWRU, 13-7, ranked #17 in Division III by ITA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Judges opened the by winning the doubles point for the third time during the tournament.
- The Spartans opened with a 6-4 win at #2, but Brandeis seniors Anastasia Sia (Thessaloniki, Greece/Anatolia College) and Cecilia Denis (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) answered with a 7-5 win at #3 by earning a break in the final game to avoid a tiebreaker.
- The match was decided at #1, where junior Rebecca Suarez (New York, N.Y./International Virtual Learning Academy) and senior Bhakti Parwani (Ahmedabad, India/Kumkum School) came from 4-1 down to force a tiebreaker. The Judges controlled the final game, winning the first six points before holding on for a 7-3 win to take the doubles point.
- In singles action, the Spartans regained momentum with three straight-set wins. Katie Wong knocked off first-year Charly Saltz (Natick, Mass./Learning Post Acad.), 6-0, 6-1, at #6, while Asha Shulka topped junior Nancy Zhang (Shanghai, China/Shangai International School), 6-0, 6-3.
- At #3, junior Bhakti Parwani (Ahmedabad, India/Aavishkar School) tested CWRU's Anna Kan, but fell, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, setting up the Judges' dramatics.
- At #1, Suarez, who is ranked #38 in the ITA Division III singles rankings, met Lily McCloskey, ranked #29. McClosky got off to a fast start, winning the first set, 6-1, but Suarez lost just four games in the final two sets, 6-2, 6-2, to cut the deficit to 3-2.
- At #2 singles, Parwani met CWRU's Laurel Utterback, ranked #43 by the ITA. Parwani cruised to a 6-1 win in the first set, and looked to be in control in the second, taking a 4-0 lead.
- Utterback answered by winning seven of the final eight games to take the set, 7-5, forcing a third.
- In the third, both players were terrific on the return, with only two holds in the first 10 games. Utterback had the first chance to serve for the match at 5-4, but Parwani came from back from love-40 down to earn another break, then held in Game 11 to take a 6-5 lead.
- Parwani completed the win with her fifth break of the set to take it, 7-5, tying the team score at 3-all.
- The match came down to a nearly three-hour marathon at #5 between Sia and Elsa Syed. The Spartan player ran out to a 4-0 lead in the first set and hung on to win, 6-4.
- Sia looked to do the same in the second set, when she went ahead, 4-0, and was up 5-1, giving her two chances to serve for the set.
- Syed responded by winning five straight games to take a 5-4 lead. The players held serve the rest of the way to force a third-set tie-breaker. Sia got off to another fast start in the 13th game, winning the first five points, but Syed answered again. She served for the match at 6-5, but Sia broke on each of the next two points to go up, 7-6. Syed avoided another set point, but Sia answered and broke at 8-7 to force the third set.
- In the third, the pair traded early breaks in games two and three, and the set was tied at 2-all. Sia imposed her will from there on, winning the final four games to take the third set, 6-2, and complete the comeback and the upset.
- With the win, the Judges finish fifth in the UAA for their best finish since coming in fourth in 2019.
UP NEXT
- The Judges will await NCAA Tournament announcements, both for Suarez and Parwani as individuals and as a doubles team.
