This past weekend both Brandeis’ men’s and women’s tennis teams saw some highs and lows as they are nearing the final stretch of their seasons. Both teams are led by head coach Ben Lamanna and assistant coach Michael Kopelman. The team captains for the women’s side are Sarita Biswas ’16 and Hannah Marion ’16, while the men’s captains are Danny Lubarsky ’16 and Brian Granoff ’17.
On their home courts in Gosman Athletic Center, the 31-ranked women’s team dominated as they went up against Wheaton College this past Friday. The Judges improved to 5-6, while the Lyons fell to 5-11. The doubles action on the indoor tennis courts had a spectacular start. In the No. 1 matchup, Haley Cohen ’18 and Olivia Leavitt ’19 didn’t give their opponent a chance when they won 8-0. Then in the No. 2 spot, Sofia He ’18 and Charlotte Aaron ’18 kept tight control on the courts, winning 8-2. Hitting one of the higher points of this season, Maya Vasser ’16 and Biswas won their matchup 8-1.
On the outdoors Rieger Tennis Courts, the Judges’ momentum continued into the singles action. Finishing with ease, Leavitt played the No. 1 singles matchup, winning 6-1, 6-1. At the No. 2 matchup, Emily Eska ’16 won 6-0, 6-1. In her first action since Feb. 17 in California, Michele Lehat ’19 won the No. 3, 6-1, 6-1. Marion also played for the first time since Feb. 17 in the No. 5 spot, and won, 6-1, 6-0. Biswas topped Brandeis’ victories with a clean defeat of Arielle Klopsis, 6-0, 6-0.
Once again on their home courts, a few days later on Sunday the women’s team continued to improve as they beat the Bates Bobcats. The Judges improved to 6-6, returning to .500 for the first time since their second match, while the Bobcats fell to 3-10. The Judges won two of three doubles matchups, with He and Aaron winning the No. 2 matchup, 8-5. Then Vasser and Eska defeated Bates’ Emma Mattson and Emma Blakeley, 8-1. This was their fourth win in five matchups. The singles actions showed strong performances as well, with all four of their wins coming in straight sets. At the No. 2 matchup, Leavitt won 6-2, 6-3. Eska took the No. 4 matchup, 6-3, 6-0, Vasser won the No. 5 matchup, 6-4, 6-0, while Lehat won the No. 6, 6-3, 6-1.
The 32-ranked Brandeis men’s tennis team also showed strong performances over the weekend. On Saturday, going up against Vassar, they completely dominated, winning 9-0 for their sixth straight victory. The Judges improved 8-3, while the Brewers fell to 6-11. Eric Goldberg ’18 and Brian Granoff ’17 opened the doubles actions, winning the No. 3 matchup, 8-2. Then at the No. 1 spot Jeff Cherkin ’17 and Michael Arguello ’17 triumphed 8-3, and the No. 2 pairing of Danny Lubarsky and Jackson Kogan ’19 won 8-5. The Judges’ success continued in the singles actions, with Kogan, Arguello, Granoff and Cherkin once again seeing victories. Kogan defeated with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 5, and then Arguello’s 6-1, 6-2 score won the No. 3 spot. Then after a hard earned tie-breaker of 10-5, Ryan Bunis ’17 finished off the sweep at the No. 1 matchup. Later that afternoon, going against Division-I Boston College the men’s team saw its six-game streak come to an end with a 5-2 loss. The Judges fell 8-4, while the Eagles improved to 6-14. In doubles actions the Judges did see some victories come from the pairing of Kogan and Lubarsky at the No. 2 spot, winning 7-6, and then at the No. 3 spot Goldberg and Granoff also won, 7-6. In the singles games the Judges didn’t fare as well, with Boston College dominating five of six matches. Arguello got the lone win for the Judges, winning 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 at the No. 3 spot.
Both Brandeis’ men’s and women’s tennis teams will be back in action this week, with the men playing Wednesday at Tufts and then the women playing Thursday at Bentley.
