WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University women's tennis junior
Rebecca Suarez of
New York, New York, has earned first-team All-University Athletic Association honors in singles and in doubles along with partner senior
Bhakti Parwani of
Ahmedabad, India. Parwani and senior
Anastasia Sia of
Thessaloniki, Greece, were both named honorable mention All-UAA.
UPDATE: On Wednesday evening, Suarez and Parwani were selected to represent the Judges in the NCAA Division III Doubles Tournament, held May 25-27. Additionally, Suarez was selected to the NCAA singles tournament. Suarez is the third Judge to earn a berth at both women's tournaments, joining
Abby Lerner '05 and
Carley Cooke '14. In addition, the pair become the first women's doubles team to be selected to multiple NCAA tournaments.
For Suarez, who played #1 singles and doubles for the Judges, this is the second time she has earned first-team All-Association honors at both positions, along with her rookie season. She and Parwani also earned second-team All-UAA honors in 2024. Parwani earns her fourth and fifth All-UAA honors – she was a first-team singles and second-team doubles player as a first-year at #1, a second-team singles selection at #2 and first-team choice at #1 as a sophomore, and a second-team member at #1 doubles as a junior. For Sia, this is her third career All-UAA honorable mention at a variety of singles positions.
Suarez ended the regular season ranked #28 in Division III singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and #4 in the Northeast Region by the NCAA. She posted a 9-3 record at #1 singles, including winning a 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, decision in the fifth-place match at the UAA tournament, when the then-33
rd-ranked Judges defeated then-17
th-ranked Case Western Reserve, 4-3. Of her three losses, one came to the top-ranked player in Division III and another came when she was forced to retire after one set due to illness. Suarez also knocked off the #3 player in the nation from Babson.
In doubles action, Suarez and Parwani are also ranked fourth in the Northeast Region, posting a 14-3 record, including their last 11 matches in a row. They won all three of their matches at the UAA tournament, including a win over the #18 team in the nation from Emory. The pair were selected to the NCAA Division III doubles tournament in 2024, where they lost to the top seeds from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the opening round.
In singles action for Parwani, she turned in an 8-7 record overall, including 6-4 mark at #2 after going 2-3 at #1 while filling in for Suarez. Parwani won two of her three matches at the UAA tournament, defeating a top-50 opponent from Case Western Reserve and leading the #34 player from Emory, 6-4, 4-4 when the team match was ended.
Sia led the team in victories and winning percentage this season, going 14-3, including 6-2 at #4 and 7-1 at #5. She had the clinching win in both of the Judges victories at the UAA tournament, winning 6-1, 6-2, over NYU in the consolation semifinals and a marathon 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, win against Case Western Reserve in the fifth-place match. The Judges earned their best finish since 2019 with that win. Sia and classmate
Cecilia Denis of
Ardmore, Pennsylvania, went 12-4 at #3 doubles for the Judges.
In head coach
Pauri Pandian's 5
rd season with the Judges, Brandeis finished the 2024-25 campaign with an 11-7 record, ranked #24 in Division III by the ITA. They finished fifth in the UAA, upsetting then-29
th-ranked NYU and then-17
th-ranked Case Western Reserve. After dropping their first six matches of the season, the Judges bounced back to win 11 of their last 12, including a nine-match winning streak that was their longest since the mid-1980s.
Suarez is a 2022 graduate of International Virtual Learning Academy.
Parwani is a 2021 graduate of the Kumkum School.
Sia is a 2021 graduate of Anatolia College.
For more information on Brandeis women's tennis, visit their web page at
https://brandeisjudges.com/sports/wten.
