While most varsity athletes struggle to simply stay in shape over the summer, men's cross country and track runner Joel Sunshine '07 and women's tennis player Sarah Brem '08 will face another task: planning a wedding. The varsity sports couple got engaged over this past winter break, and their wedding is planned for the end of the summer, Sunshine said.Sunshine's and Brem's athletic careers have complemented each other since before the couple even started dating back in the Spring of 2005. When Brem was running a timed mile on the indoor track for the tennis team before that spring season, Sunshine was running on the same track for practice. As Brem ran, Sunshine followed just ahead and encouraged her to run at a faster pace.

"Joel kept me going the whole time and I ended up running the best mile I've ever run in my entire life," Brem recalled. "I realized about halfway through that he was keeping me going and saying, 'come on, you can do it!'"

Their mutual support system has only grown since the initial courtship. From cheering each other on at meets and matches to playing tennis against each other for fun, Sunshine's and Brem's athletic pursuits have given their relationship an added boost.

"The fact that they both participate in a varsity sport helps because each knows what the other is going through," said Adam Botwinick '07, a friend of the couple.

"They are always able to help each other with distresses and defeats."

While the fact that Sunshine and Brem both compete in varsity sports could conceivably lead to unhealthy rivalry and jealousy, the couple has never felt the need to upstage each other, friends said.

"They never competed with one another in their sports; they only want the other to do well," Mike Soffer '07 said.

"From day one they were a team and not competitors.

They were teammates in the game of love."

And despite the responsibilities that come with a serious relationship, Sunshine maintained that he and Brem are just as focused as ever on their athletic pursuits.

"I was very dedicated to running when we started going out, and I'm equally dedicated now," Sunshine said.

Though Sunshine is graduating from Brandeis after this semester and Brem has another year of study, Sunshine will be doing graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, just 20 minutes away from campus next year while his fiancee finishes her tennis career and applies to medical school.

Though they are young-Sunshine will be 22 and Brem 20 at the time of their wedding-this all-star couple leaves little doubt that age will be a problem.

"Usually when couples get engaged so young everybody worries about how it's going to last," Soffer said.

"With Joel and Sarah, we were all surprised about how it took so long from them to get engaged.