Announcing the 2025 Departmental Award Winners!

WALTHAM, Mass. – On Thursday, May 1, the Brandeis University Department of Athletics held its annual Michael Coven Awards Brunch, honoring the University’s top student-athletes. An additional two awards, the Linsey Fellowships, were presented on May 13th, when the graduating student-athletes received their graduation stoles. 

The Linsey Fellowships went to Bronwyn Rothman-Hall of San Francisco, California, and the women’s fencing team. A four-year starter on the epee squad, who served as a squad captain as a senior, Rothman-Hall was a second-team Division III All-American as a first-year. She was a United States Fencing Coaches Association Scholar of Distinction twice and and a three-time Academic All-UAA selection. Outside of athletics, she performed with Adagio Dance Company and served as a Roosevelt Fellow undergraduate advisor. Rothman-Hall also served as an intern in the department’s marketing and communications office, broadcasting various sports, and working as a Gosman Athletic Center building manager. Rothman-Hall will be attending Temple University next year to participate in their Master's Program in Sports Business, where she will also be the Owls' Fencing Director of Operations.

The second Linsey Fellowship went to Spencer Lee of Great Neck, New York. A captain of the men's cross country team, Lee battled injury throughout his career, but was a scoring member at University Athletic Association championships in cross country and track and field. He also participated in Brandeis's Prevention Advocacy and Resource Center (PARC) on campus while maintaining a profitable YouTube channel. Lee will be attending NYU to receive his Master of Science in Integrated Marketing .

Athletic Director’s Awards, presented to student-athletes who represented the University with distinction went to three recipients. First was senior Sabrina Loui of Honolulu, Hawaii, and the women’s tennis team. Loui was a two-year team captain for the Judges, playing as high as #1 doubles and #3 singles in her career, earning All-University Athletic Association accolades as a first-year. After suffering an injury during her sophomore year, she returned at the end of the season to go 2-1 at the UAA Championships. In addition to her on-court efforts, Loui was an inaugural member of Brandeis’s Student-Athletes of Color affinity group, serving as their event coordinator; a member of the Kaos Kids Dance Team; a lifeguard and equipment room employee; and an undergraduate departmental representative for the Biophysics department;

Next was senior Gabriel Haithcock of Macon, Georgia, and the men’s soccer team. Haithcock, who was also honored with this award as a sophomore, was four-year member of the soccer team who served as a captain as a senior. He was one of the founding members of the Student-Athletes of Color and a core member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, serving as vice president for three years. He was a valuable student-employee in the department, working in the equipment room and manning the video camera for basketball games. 

Finally was senior Bronwyn Rothman-Hall of San Francisco, California, and the women’s fencing team. A four-year starter on the epee squad, who served as a squad captain as a senior, Rothman-Hall was a second-team Division III All-American as a first-year. She was a United States Fencing Coaches Association Scholar of Distinction twice and and a three-time Academic All-UAA selection. Outside of athletics, she performed with Adagio Dance Company and served as a Roosevelt Fellow undergraduate advisor. Rothman-Hall also served as an intern in the department’s marketing and communications office, broadcasting various sports, and working as a Gosman Athletic Center building manager. 

The Morrie Stein ’58 Award of Valor, presented to a student athlete who has demonstrated courage both on and off the playing fields and or intervened to better the lives of others, went to senior Dominque Paglia of Westford, Massachusetts, and the women’s soccer team. She was a senior captain for the Judges, who started their season with a 9-1 record and reached #20 in the Division III national rankings. A double major in neuroscience and biology, Paglia is a three-time Academic All-UAA selection and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree. Outside of the department, she has worked as an EMT and at a local Urgent Care facility, while also serving as the president of the Hidden Opponent, an organization dedicated to helping destigmatize mental health issues, especially among student-athletes.

The Martin Zelnik ’61 Award is presented annually to “walk-on” or non-recruited student-athletes. The honorees are those who make a significant contribution to a varsity team or teams through spirit, enthusiasm, and work ethic to improve their own skills and those of their teammates. It went to senior Eva Parson of Milford, Massachusetts, and the women’s swimming and diving team. A two-time team captain, Parson was on the Brandeis Dean’s List every semester as a Health: Science, Society and Policy major with a business minor. She served as a TA in the sociology department, an executive board member in the Brandeis admissions department and a coordinator of the Brandeis Buddies program in the Waltham Group. 

The Charlie Napoli ’58 Scholar Athlete Award, are presented to outstanding student who have excelled in the classroom and on the athletic field. The men’s recipient was junior Elias Rodl of Berlin, Germany, and the men’s basketball team. A transfer from Division II St. Anselm, Rodl was a second-team All-University Athletic Association selection after finishing second on the Judges in scoring with 16.7 points per game and leading the league with 57.0% field goal percentage, the 15th-best season in school history. Rodl owns a 3.84 grade-point average as a business major with a minor in finance. He was an Academic All-UAA and CSC Academic All-District selection.

The women’s honoree was senior Tristan Boyer of Chesapeake, Virginia, and the softball team. A four-year starter at catcher for the Judges, Boyer has played in 128 games in her career, starting all but seven. She has been a defensive standing out, making just three errors in four seasons for a .995 fielding percentage. Off the field, she was a four-year member of the department’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, serving as vice president as a sophomore and president as a junior and senior. Boyer, who carries a 3.91 grade-point average as a biology major, earning Dean’s List honors each semester, three Academic All-UAA honors and two CSC Academic All-District honors. She served as a research assistant in the University’s Susan T. Lovett lab, and will be pursuing her Master’s in Biotechnology at Brandeis.

The Morris Sepinuck Award is presented to the varsity athlete who not only displays outstanding sportsmanship but also makes a significant contribution to the athletic program and to campus life at Brandeis. The winner was senior Rani Balakrishna of Brookline, Massachusetts, and the softball team. Balakrishna was a walk-on catcher for the softball team. Her advocacy has helped the team secure a new field that is expected to be completed for the 2027 season. A politics major with minors in journalism and Hispanic and Latinx studies and a 3.5 GPA, Balakrishna was a three-time Academic All-UAA and NFCA All-Academic selection. She helped start Athlete Ally, the department’s LBGTQIA+ organization and coordinating the department’s seasonal Pride Days. She was a member of the Brandeis Student Union all four years, including as director of DEI as a junior and as the organization’s president in 2024-25. Balakrishna also served as sports editor of The Justice as a junior. 

The Rookie of the Year Awards are presented to the top newcomers of the 2024-25 year. The men’s recipient was Daniel Shemesh of Modiin, Israel, and the men’s tennis team. Shemesh joined the Judges and helped them to a 9-8 record after winning just two matches in the previous season. He played #1 doubles and #2 or 3 singles for the Judges. Shemesh posed a 7-3 record at #2 singles with wins over a couple of nationally-ranked opponents from #3 Tufts and #14 Babson. In doubles action, he went 15-8 with graduate student Dylan Walters, including 10-6 in dual matches. The duo are in consideration for selection to the NCAA Division III Doubles championships later this month.

The women’s recipient was Sarai Sealy of New York, New York, and the women’s track and field team. Sealy was a first-team All-American during the indoor season, finishing fifth at the NCAA Division III Championships. She earned University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year honors indoors, winning the conference title over the top-ranked triple jumper in Division III at the time. During the outdoor season, she has been part of four school records in the triple jump – breaking the mark held by Elena Zhelezov ’95, the most decorated athlete in Brandeis women’s track and field history – the 100-meter run and as part of the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays. Sealy earned her second All-UAA honor of the year by placing second in the triple jump outdoors, and she is ranked third nationally with a couple of weeks before the NCAA Championships.

The Max I. Silber Award is presented to the top women’s student-athlete of the year. It went to first-year Peterly Leroy of Malden, Massachusetts, who competed for both the women’s soccer and women’s track and field teams. After playing in all 18 games for the women’s soccer team, she finished fourth on the squad in scoring with four goals and 10 points. Leroy joined the track and field team during the indoor season and has gone on to break six school records and earn All-America honors in the process. Her school records came in the 400-meter dash and 4x400-meter relay indoors and in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays outdoors. Leroy finished second in the 400 indoors and third outdoors in the UAA to claim All-Conference honors. During the indoor season, she finished 14th in Division III in the 400 to earn Second Team All-America honors, and she is currently ranked 10th nationally outdoors, while the 4x400-meter relay team is 19th. 

Th Harry, Joseph, and Ida Stein Award is presented to the top male student-athlete of the year. It went to senior Toby Harris of Durham, North Carolina, and the men’s basketball team. Harris was a first team All-University Athletic Association selection and fourth-team All-American by D3hoops.com, only the second All-American from that outlet in program history. He was also a first-team All-Region selection both as a sophomore and as a senior. Harris led the Judges and the entire UAA in scoring as a sophomore and finished sixth as a senior. He hit the second-most 3-pointers in the UAA this season, ranking 75th in Division III. Harris graduates from Brandeis 22nd on the career scoring list with 1153 points, despite missing most of his senior season to injury, while finishing eight with 173 3-pointers. Harris will play at Division I Iona University as a grad transfer next year. 

The James McCully '86 Awards, are presented to seniors who, over the course of their career, best exemplify the character, dedication and good sportsmanship that depicted soccer All-American and inaugural Hall of Famer Jim McCully's career at Brandeis. The women’s winner was Lara Verstovsek of Houston, Texas, and the volleyball team. Verstovsek was a four-time All-UAA selection, including first-team as a senior, and three-time All-Region selection who earned Honorable Mention All-America honors three times. This year, she was named AVCA Division III National Player of the Week after setting a school record with 25 kills in a three-set match. She led the UAA in kills this season, and became the 10th player to reach 1,000 for her career, landing fourth on Brandeis’s all-time list. A psychology major with a 3.77 GPA, Verstovsek was a six-time Dean’s List member and three-time CSC Academic All-District selection.

The men’s McCully Award winner was Tony Escueta of Grand Prairie, Texas, and the men’s fencing team. Escueta was a three-time qualifier to the NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships in saber for the Judges. He earned All-Division All-America honors as a sophomore, when he finished 12th nationally, and as a junior, when he was 8th overall. Escueta was named United State Fencing Coaches Association Division III Newcomer of the Year as a first-year, Division III Saber Fencer of the Year as a sophomore and DIII and All-Division Fencer of the Year as a junior. Escueta was a triple major in political science, International and Global Studies and anthropology with a 3.85 GPA. He also worked as an Orientation leader, an event coordinator for the Brandeis Southeast Asia Club and worked as an Affordable Housing Intake Coordinator at WATCH CDC.