Men’s tennis was in Vermont this week for the Middlebury Invitational. The event also marked the beginning of their 2022-2023 season. It’s the first match following the coaching split this summer regarding former associate head coach Christo Schultz’s new position as the head coach for the men’s team.
Simon Kauppila ’23 began his senior season with a run to the finals in Vermont. While his first match started off rocky, he pulled out a clutch win 2-6, 6-4, 10-8, prevailing in a tight super tiebreaker. He won his next two rounds 6-2, 6-4 and 6-4, 6-3 respectively before falling in the finals 4-6, 0-6.
Hunter Levine ’23 beat the first seed in the second round 3-6, 6-2, 10-6 and continued into the semifinals losing there with a tight 6-7 (3-7), 6-1 match. Teammate Aaron Bayse ’24 also made it to the semifinals losing 0-6, 6-4. Haidyn Green ’26 won his first round match 6-4, 6-3 but fell in a close second round match 4-6, 6-1, 5-10.
In the doubles, Kauppila and Levine partnered up for a run to the semifinals. While they beat the second-seeded team in the first round, they lost in their final match 1-8.
In the opening match of the women’s season, their trip to the Wallach Invitational in Maine resulted in many late-round wins and finals, including a thwarted all-Brandeis final matchup. Anastasia Sia ’25 grinded through three tight matches, involving an upset of the third-seeded player in the second round. She found her way to the final where she and her teammate Rebecca Suarez ’26 were scheduled to compete, but they canceled the match to save energy for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Championships.
Other Brandeis winners from the event include Phoebe Tamaoki ’26 who reached the semifinals of the B singles flight and Ella Subramanian ’24 who reached the finals in the C singles flight. In the doubles flights, Suarez and Bhakti Parwani ’25 won A and Subramanian and Tamaoki fell in the semifinals of B.
In the ITA Championships, the Suarez and Parwani pairing proved the most successful of the Judges’ matches. They were the only match to reach the second day, falling then as Suarez dealt with an injury from her singles match from which she retired the day before. The partners reached the third round.
Looking forward, the men’s team plays the ITA New England Regional Championships at Bowdoin on Friday and the women’s team is scheduled for a home match against Nichols Oct. 15.
