CLAREMONT, Calif. – The No. 21-ranked Brandeis University men's tennis team tested No. 6-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in their February break finale, but the Judges were unable to pull many upsets as they dropped a 8-1 decision, their first loss of the campaign. Brandeis falls to 3-1, while the Stags improve to 1-0.
The Judges' lone point came at the top spot in the doubles lineup. With an illness striking the lineup, rookies Adam Tzeng (Eagle, Idaho/Eagle) and Jeff Chen (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) played their first match of the season at #1. They were able to pull out an 8-6 win over CMS's Julian Gordy and Nikolai Parodi. The Stags took the 2-1 advantage into singles with a pair of 8-4 wins at #2 and #3.
In singles action, the hosts increased their lead to 4-1 with wins at #1 and #2. In the lower parts of the ladder, Brandeis players forced CMS into two tiebreakers and two other late-break situations, but could not pull off any wins. Tzeng picked up a second-set win at #3, falling to Robert Liu, 7-5, 3-6, 10-7, with the third set a super-tiebreaker. Chen was unable to pick up a second win over Gordy, dropping a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) decision at #4. Sophomore Rajan Vohra (Glen Head, N.Y./North Shore) lost at #5, 7-5, 6-3, while senior Tyler Ng (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck North) fell at #6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6).
The Judges return to action next weekend with a pair of New England road matches, starting with a 12 noon match Division I Bryant University on Saturday, March 2.