HADLEY, Mass. - Joey Barrett of Colby, Neel Epstein and Julian Wu of Middlebury, and Matt Kandel of Williams garnered College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America honors. Additionally, 30 athletes from the NESCAC were named to the CSC Division III Men's Tennis Academic All-District Team.
Barrett, Colby's 2024 Whitmore Jr. Award winner, was an Academic All-America First Team selection and is a four-time All-NESCAC selection, and a three-time NESCAC All-Academic selection. Barrett graduated in May with a 4.11 GPA as an economics and educational studies major. Playing at the top of the ladder for the Mules, Barrett won 19 matches this season on the singles court and 11 matches at the No. 2 or 3 doubles slot.
The Middlebury duo of Epstein and Wu earned spots on the Academic All-America Third Team. Epstein, a molecular biology and biochemistry major with a 3.97 GPA, earns Academic All-America honors for the first time in his career. The junior was named to the All-NESCAC First Team for doubles with playing partner Robby Ward and the tandem finished the year ranked fourth in Division III. The pair amassed 13 wins at the top of the lineup. In singles action, Epstein played primarily in the fourth and fifth slots. This year, he owned an 18-5 mark with seven wins at No. 4 and an unblemished 5-0 mark at No. 5. The Panther concluded the spring with a 15-2 record in dual play, including an undefeated 9-0 mark in NESCAC action. In the classroom, Epstein is a two-time NESCAC All-Academic selection and a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete.
Wu, an economics major, holds a 3.75 GPA and earned the academic award for the first time. The Panther had a dominant year, securing All-NESCAC First-Team Singles accolades and a spot at the NCAA Individual Championships where he reached the Round of 16. Wu claimed the ITA New England Regional Singles crown in the fall and advanced to the semifinal round of the ITA Cup. The sophomore was 26-7 this year in singles action picking up 51 career wins in just two seasons at Middlebury while dropping only 11 matches. Wu finished the year ranked fifth in the country in singles and held a 10-3 record during individual play at No. 2 while owning a 22-6 overall record throughout the doubles lineup, including a 13-3 mark in dual action. Off the court, Wu is a NESCAC All-Academic team and ITA Scholar-Athlete honoree.
A junior captain for the Ephs, Kandel was a Third Team Academic All-American. This year Kandel finished second nationally in the singles rankings compiled by the ITA and third in the ITA doubles rankings paired with Nicholas Chen. A Chinese and mathematics major, Kandel boasts a 3.83 GPA. Kandel posted a 23-8 record in 2024 at No. 1 singles and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship. On the double court, Kandel and Chen won 19 matches as the top duo for Williams. In addition to competing for the Ephs in the fall and spring, Kandel spent one summer studying Chinese in Taiwan and volunteered on the Gaza border in the winter of 2024.
| FIRST TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Kailas Kahler (3) |
MIT |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science |
| Vishwa Aduru (1) |
Case Western Reserve University |
Sr. |
3.96 |
Computer Science & Economics |
| Sahil Dayal |
Case Western Reserve University |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Economics |
| Ajay Mahenthiran |
Case Western Reserve University |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Biology |
| Arjun Asokumar (3) |
University of Chicago |
Sr. |
3.90 |
Economics |
| Joey Barrett |
Colby College |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Economics & Educational Studies |
| Advik Mareedu |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps |
So. |
3.85 |
Computer Science |
|
|
|
|
|
| SECOND TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Marco Siviero |
Gustavus Adolphus College |
Jr. |
3.85 |
Management & Communication Studies |
| Jordan Theron |
The University of the South |
Sr. |
3.65 |
Economics |
| Kyle McCandless |
California Institute of Technology |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Computer Science |
| Dean Kamenev |
Emory University |
So. |
3.81 |
Biology |
| Ansh Shah (2) |
Case Western Reserve University |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Biology |
|
|
|
|
|
| THIRD TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
GPA |
Major |
| Neel Epstein |
Middlebury College |
Jr. |
3.97 |
Molecular Biology & Biochemistry |
| Hanyu Liu |
Johns Hopkins University |
Gr. |
3.85/3.95 |
Geography & Environmental Health & Engineering (G) |
| Ian Freer |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps |
Sr. |
3.72 |
Economics & Data Science |
| Matt Kandel |
Williams College |
Jr. |
3.83 |
Chinese & Math |
| Landon Sather |
Concordia Wisconsin |
Jr. |
4.00 |
Business Management |
| Julian Wu |
Middlebury College |
So. |
3.75 |
Economics |
