The 19th-ranked Brandeis women’s tennis team continued their blistering start to the season with a 6-3 win against 30th-ranked Bates College and an 8-1 win against Babson. With the win against Bates, the Judges improved their record against nationally-ranked opponents to 3-1, their sole loss coming from a match against Middlebury College. The Judges are now 10-1 on the season, their best start since the 1985-86 season. With their two wins this week, the Judges can expect their ranking to rise.
Against Bates, Carley Cooke ’15 and Faith Broderick ’13 produced stellar performances. The pair, ranked sixth in the Northeast in doubles play, earned an 8-4 win against Meg Anderson and Elena Mandzhukova at No. 1 doubles; however, the Judges dropped a point at No. 2 doubles as Alexa Katz ’14 and Nina Levine ’12 lost to Ashley Brunk and Nicole Russell 8-6. The Judges rebounded at No. 3 doubles as Dylan Schlesinger ’15 and Simone Vandroff ’15 dispatched Erika Blauth and Kristen Doerer in a marathon 9-8 (7-2) win to take a 2-1 advantage into singles play.
In singles, Cooke rebounded from a first set loss to defeat Mandzhukova 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, and Broderick earned a 6-4, 6-1 win agaisnt Anderson at No. 2 singles. Allyson Bernstein ’14 had a dominating win over Jacqui Holmes, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 singles while Vandroff rallied from a first set loss to defeat Brunk 4-6, 6-4, (11-9) at No. 6 singles.
Bates picked up two wins in singles play as Blauth defeated Katz at No. 4 singles 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(7) and Lucy Brennan took down Roberta Bergstein ’14 at No. 5 singles 6-3, 6-2.
On Monday, the Judges traveled to Babson looking to continue their strong play.
The Judges jumped out to an early lead as Cooke and Broderick defeated Alex Freeman and Sarah Whitaker 8-2 at No. 1 doubles, and Schlesinger and Vandroff took care of Minte Tamoshunas and Alexis Ferraro 8-4 at No. 3 doubles. Babson was able to pick up one point in doubles play, however, as Rebecca Stone and Ashley Lake defeated Katz and Levine 8-1 at No. 2 doubles.
Although four of the six singles matches were closely contested, Brandeis was able to sweep all six. The easiest wins for the Judges came at No. 1 and No. 3 singles. At No. 1 singles Cooke defeated Freeman 6-1, 6-1 while at No. 3 singles Bernstein defeated Stone 6-0, 6-1.
At No. 2 singles, Broderick outlasted Whitaker 6-2, 7-6, (7-4), and at No. 4 singles Katz earned a victory after eking out two hard-fought sets against Tamoshunas 7-6 (7-1), 7-5.
At No. 5 singles, Bernstein topped Courtney Fischer 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-2) while Vandroff dispatched Victoria Lorido 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-4) at No. 6 singles.
The Judges will return to action this weekend when they serve as co-hosts with Wellesley College for the Nor’Easter Bowl along with Wellesley College. The tournament will feature five of the top-30 teams in Division III according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, including third-ranked Amherst, 12th-ranked Tufts, 18th-ranked Wellesley, 24th-ranked Skidmore and 30th-ranked Bates.
