REDLANDS, Calif. – The #28 Brandeis men's tennis team dropped its California trip finale last night, falling to #15 University of Redlands, 5-4. The Judges' record moves to 1-1, while the Bulldogs improve to 3-0.

The Judges, who were playing without No. 1 player Brian Granoff (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) who was out with an injury, got off to a fast start by sweeping the Bulldogs in doubles. Senior Danny Lubarsky (Cleveland, Ohio/Hawken School)  teamed  with rookie Jackson Kogan (Pacific Palisades, Calif. / Windward School) at No. 2 for an 8-4 win to get the Judges on the board.  Sophomore Ethan Saal (Scarsdale, N.Y. / Abraham Joshua Heschel School) and rookie Tyler Ng (Great Neck, N.Y. / Great Neck South) earned an 8-3 win at No. 3. Brandeis completed the sweep at the top spot as juniors Michael Arguello (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) and Jeff Cherkin (Melville, N.Y. / Half Hollow Hills East) used a late break of serve to take an 8-6 win at No. 1.

The Bulldogs quickly rallied in singles action, taking the first three matches in straight sets at Nos. 3 and 4, earning wins of 6-1, 6-2, and 6-0, 6-2, respectively. The home team tied the match at No. 1 singles, where Joey Dulle faced off against Arguello and took a 6-3, 6-4 decision.

The toughest match of the day took place at No. 2 singles, where junior Ryan Bunis (Cincinnati, Ohio/Groton-Dunstable, Mass.) battled U of R's Chase Lipscomb. Bunis dropped the first set, 6-3, but won the second, 6-4. Lipscomb prevailed in the third, 6-3, to give Redlands a 4-3 lead and putting 5 and 6 singles on the court. Redlands' Jake Ly clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-2 win at the bottom of the ladder before Judge rookie Ng gave Brandeis their lone singles point at No. 5, 6-1, 7-6. Ng won the second-set tiebreaker at love.

The Judges are now off until mid-March, when they meet Stevens and University Athletic Association rival NYU on another two-match road trip.