The women’s tennis team, currently ranked #21 in Division III, took down unranked St. Lawrence 9-0 on Saturday, March 11 to improve their record to 7-1. It was the team’s fifth straight win. The Judges then achieved their sixth straight win with a victory over New York University the next day.
In the doubles matches, Brandeis started off strong with Sabrina Ross Neergaard ’20 and Olivia Leavitt ’19 beating St. Lawrence 8-3 in the number-one doubles spot. Leavitt looked to close off volleys and the net, while Neergaard dominated play from the baseline.
Haley Cohen ’18 and Ariana Ishaq ’19 won their match 8-5 beating St. Lawrence’s number-two team. The match saw many switches in momentum until the Brandeis team took the lead at 6-5 and coasted to victory.
Keren Khromchenko ’19 and Michele Lehat ’19 finished the doubles sweep with their 8-4 victory in the number-three doubles spot.
In singles play, Cohen downed the number-two seat in quick fashion with her 6-1, 6-0 victory. She led the match after a quick 3-0 lead in the first set and used the early momentum to guide her through a controlled win. Neergaard, playing at the number-one singles spot, clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-3 win. The rookie’s skill shone through after a few rough games in the beginning of the match. Neergaard finished off her opponent by remaining steady and earning easy points off big serves.
After the clinch, Brandeis rolled through the bottom part of the lineup, sweeping St. Lawrence. Khromchenko, at the three spot, closed out her opponent with a 6-4, 6-1 victory. Leavitt took the next win, with a quick 6-1, 6-1 score, and shortly after, Ishaq earned a double-bagel win at the sixth seat 6-0, 6-0. Lehat would close out the match with another dominating win in the fifth singles spot at 6-2, 6-1.
The Judges hit the courts again early on Sunday morning when they matched up against conference opponent NYU at Longfellow Racquet Club in Wayland, MA. The Judges took home a 5-4 victory to increase their winning streak to six, and advance their record to 8-1.
The Judges started off strong by winning the first five of six matches of the day. Brandeis’ top doubles team, Neergaard and Leavitt, took down the number-one seat in doubles with an 8-4 victory. At two, Cohen and Ishaq could not hold steady against their opponents, and ultimately lost 3-8. The last doubles match came down to a tiebreaker at 8-8. Though tight, the Brandeis team prevailed in a 7-4 tiebreaker win to take the lead 2-1 going into singles play.
In the singles tournament, Khromchenko swept her opponent with a quick 6-0, 6-0 victory to be the first off the court. Neergaard earned yet another win in the number-one singles spot by defeating her opponent 6-3, 6-3. Leavitt would clinch the match at the number-four singles spot to go up 5-1. She won with a score of 6-4, 6-4 after coming back from a 3-4 deficit in the second set. NYU would take the final three singles matches to tighten the score to 5-4, the same score the Judges had against their conference opponent in the 2016 season.
This was the 14th win for the Judges out of the 15 meetings they have had with NYU in program history. After the Judges wins, Brandeis women’s tennis have moved up to #18 in the nation, the highest rank the team has ever achieved in the program’s history.
Next up on the schedule, the Judges will take on Middlebury College, who is currently ranked third nationally in Division III. They will travel to Vermont to take on Middlebury College on Saturday, March 18.
