When the ball bounces your way, there is little sweeter. Right now, Brandeis tennis is riding high as the mens team walked out of Norton, MA a 7-2 winner over regional rivals Wheaton College.
The Judges swept the doubles matches and did not stop in singles play as Mike Vulfovitch 07, Sam Jonas 07, Jordan Beiber 07 and Cliff Silverman 07 took their matches and Brandeis walked out, the Lyon tamers. The tone of the match was started with the doubles combo of Vulfovitch and Jonas coming out on the better side of a 9-8 scrapper in the number one doubles match. Adam Sher 07 and Derek Tesser 09 picked up the losses in singles play, both games went to three-set tie breakers.
The victory raises the Judges to 4-4 and continues a positive trend going back to March 18 home matches for both the men and the women.
The mens and womens tennis teams faced off against Bates College this at Brandeis, both teams defeating their opponents 6-3 this Saturday, at the Gossman Sports Center. The win was even more sweet as Bates is currently ranked 24th in the nation, and is the ala mater of head coach Ben Lamanna. This is the first win that the Judges have had over the Bobcats this century and is a great way to start off the spring season. Brandeis is currently standing at 14th in New England for the men and their showing today is certainly a testament to their high ranking.
The men had great day, finishing 6-3 overall against Bates. Sam Jonas 07 and teammate Mike Vulfovich 07 were able to rank first in the doubles for the day. They narrowly claimed this title after winning a tie-breaker 7-4. They were supported in doubles action by teammates Adam Sher 07 and Jordan Bieber 07 who were able to clinch the second doubles spot with a final score of 8 to 6. Singles action showed many standouts as Vulfovich and Jonas were able to rank first and second for the day in singles play. Cliff Silverman 07 was also able to have a great performance on Saturday winning a third set super-tiebreaker to claim the final points for Brandeis and finish off the day for the team.
The women were also able to defeat their opponents at home this Saturday. In singles action, Colleen Donnelly 08 was able to easily clinch the number one spot while rookie Emily Weisberger 10 was able to use a third-set super tie-breaker to claim second. Teammate Gabrielle Helfgott 09 was able to win her match and finish off the win for Brandeis in the third possession. Brandeis also had a good showing in doubles competition, taking two of three matches. Ana Katz 08 and Jenicka Hornung 07 won their game while teammates Rachael Barr 10 and Ariana Sanai 10 won theirs to claim third for the day.
Many felt optimistic about the future and good about the recent competition. Coach Ben Lamanna commented that, we are excited, but grounded as well and we realize that we have much more to accomplish. He went onto mention some of the outstanding individual performances, commenting that Jordan Bieber stepped up and played inspiring tennis for the last two sets and clinched the match for us…He earned the 'blue shirt'–recognizing the best performance of the day from the coaches.
The Judges play at Tufts University this weekend before playing Babson College at home on the 28th. This recent competition is good practice for the judges and a good warm-up for this early in the season.
