The men wrapped up their spring with a 9-0 whitewashing of Capitol at Orlando, Florida. The Judges took 12 of the 13 singles matches played with number one seed Steven Nieman ’11 and number three seed Simon Miller ’11 each recording 6-0, 6-1 sweeps. The sixth seed match was the lone match to require a third set as Dan Roffman ’11 rebounded after dropping the first set 2-6 to equalize 6-4 and then preserved the shut out 13-11.
It was a good way to end a trip that had started off very rough for the men’s squad, opening 2009 with losses to Weber International 6-3, and Palm Beach Atlantic 5-4. Weber opened the onslaught with a clean sweep of the doubles play but Brandeis was able to come back in singles action. Craig Elman ’12 struck first in the number six singles match, picking up the quick 6-0, 6-2 victory. Nieman and team captain Scott Schulman ’09 also picked up wins in the number one and two singles. However with the doubles sweep, Weber needed only two more wins and they earned them at the expense of Miller in the number three match and Josh Bookman ’12 in the number five match. Mayur Kasetty ’11 had a heroic effort in the fourth match, requiring a third set super tie breaker but ran out of gas, falling 10-2.
Palm Atlantic also saw the Judges having to fight uphill after doubles play, though this time they took the number two doubles match behind the pairing of Steven Niemen and Kasetty getting the advantage of a late break 9-7. Singles play saw Schulman roll to a 6-1, 6-1 win and Bookman similarly costing to a 6-2, 6-2 decision. With Palm Atlantic taking the number four and five singles matches over Kasetty and Elman, it was Simon Miller who tied up the match, requiring a second set tie breaker to come out 6-4, 7-6. Unfortunately, Karsi Atanasov got the better of Nieman, requiring a third set super tie breaker after Nieman had taken the second set, it was Atanasov who came out the better end of a 6-1 match.
The skid would end there though as the team responded with 9-0 sweep of Alma and an 8-0 domination of Hanover. Scott Schulman had a particularly fine performance against Alma, easily taking the number one doubles match with partner Simon Miller 8-1 and went on to hold his opponent scoreless in singles action 6-0, 6-0. Schulman also cruised against Hanover though there would be no shut outs, settling for 6-1, 6-1 wins. The lone defeat came at the mercy of Roffman who was defeated in the sixth singles match 6-2, 6-1.
With the victory over Capitol, the men finished 3-2 in Florida to improve their record to 5-2 on the season.
The women matched the men with their own 9-0 blanking of Capitol. Ariana Sanai ’10 and Emily Weisberger ’10 experienced a day of pure perfection. First polishing off an 8-0 shut out in the number two doubles match and then went on to keep their opponents off the scoreboard in the number three and five singles matches respectively. Mackenzie Gallegos ’11 also had a perfect day in singles play, wiping out Capitol’s Meredith Wedell in the number four singles match.
Unlike their y-chromosome carrying counterparts, the Brandeis women had little trouble against Weber, soaking up the sun and a decisive 8-1 win. Rachel Rosman ’11 opened 2009 with a bang as she did not drop a game, beating Weber’s number one doubles pairing with partner Gabrielle Helfgott ’09 8-0 and swept number one singles 6-0, 6-0. The number two doubles pairing of Sanai and Gallegos also shut out their Weber counter parts. Weber’s lonely win came in the number six singles match as rookie Davidela Judelson ’12 dropped a second set tie breaker in the first game 7-6 and fought hard but fell short 6-3 in the second game.
Against Palm Atlantic however, the Judges again had no answer, this time falling 7-2. Mackenzie Gallegos and Emily Weisberger kept Brandeis from being shut out. Gallegos took the number four match 6-4, 6-1 and Weisberger took a hard fought 7-5, 6-4 win in the number five match. The Weber outcome fortunately proved to the common recurrence than the Palm Atlantic match as the women quickly wrapped Alma and Oneonta State both with 8-1 tallies. Rosman did not drop a singles match in either contest and also shut out Oneonta’s double’s pairing. Gallegos also matched her doubles partner’s perfection against Oneonta, also posting a 6-0, 6-0 sweep in number three singles.
The women finished 4-1 and are now 6-2 on the season. Their play has garnered attention from the UAA, especially Gallegos as she was named UAA Athlete of the week just before she went out to pummel Capitol. It is Mackenzie Gallegos’s first such honor which she earned with a 9-1 record with five wins in singles action and won all her doubles matches all while playing with a different partner.
Both sides get to catch their breath before they hit the road to Middlebury March 14, where they have a doubleheader against hosts Middlebury and UAA foe New York University.
