When the 24th-ranked men’s tennis team traveled to California on a road trip last week to begin their season, Steven Milo ’13 won three matches at No. 1 singles. As a team, however, the Judges dropped three of the four matches to begin the season 1-3.
In their season opener, the Judges faced Occidental College and gained only two victories. Milo and Michael Secular ’15 accounted for the Judges’ wins as they fell 7-2. Milo won the No. 1 singles match in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 while Secular out lasted his opponent for the win in the No. 6 singles match 7-6 (12-10), 6-3. The Judges lost all three doubles matches and the remainder of singles matches.
In the second match of the season, Brandeis faced 20th-ranked Cal Lutheran University. In doubles action, Alec Siegel ’15 and Secular gained the Judges’ first doubles win of the season with a late service break to eke out an 8-6 win. The Judges dropped four of their six singles matches in straight sets. In the No. 1 singles match Milo lost the first set 5-7 before winning the next two 7-6 (6-0) and 1-0 (10-6). In No. 2 singles, Josh Jordan ’13 won the first set 7-5 but then dropped the next two sets 6-3 and 1-0 (10-6). The Judges lost the match 7-2.
In the third match of the season, the Judges gained their first win, defeating Chapman University 6-3. Milo won his third straight No. 1 singles match while the Judges also got wins in No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6 singles, and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Jordan, Siegel and Secular—in addition to Milo—also earned singles wins. The pairs of Ezra Bernstein ’12 and Dave Yovanoff ’13 and Milo and Jordan accounted for both of the Judges’ doubles wins, giving the team a 6-3 victory.
In the final match of the Judges’ West Coast road trip, the Judges faced 15th-ranked University of Redlands. Jordan earned his second win of the season at No. 2 singles 6-4, 4-6 and 1-0 (10-8) but the Judges fell 8-1 as Jordan garnered the only win for the Judges. Milo lost his first No. 1 singles match of the season 6-0, 6-4.
The Judges will return to action March 9 and 10 at the Middlebury Invitational.
