PASADENA, Calif. – It came down to a three-set final match, but the Brandeis University men's tennis team couldn't pull out an upset in their second of their four-match swing to California, as the #27-ranked Judges fell to #16 CalTech, 5-4.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 2-2, #27 in Division III by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
• CalTech, 2-0, #26 in Division III by the ITA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges opened up the match with a 2-1 lead after doubles play. The Beavers won at #2, 8-4, but junior Dylan Walters (Baltimore, Md./Gilman School) and first-year Tommy Harrison (London, England/ National Extension College) upset the #19 team in Division III, Kyle McCandless and Daniel Wen, 8-5.
• The Judges took the lead into singles thanks to an 8-7 (7-2) win at #3 by first-year Alex Merson (Palisades Park, N.J. / Tenafly) and sophomore Aryan Nijhawan (Shrewsbury, Mass./Westborough).
• In singles play, CalTech took quick wins at #3 and #4 to go ahead, 3-2.
• McCandless avenged his loss to Walters with a 6-4, 6-4 win at #1 singles, but Judge junior Chen Lian (Shanghai, China / Shanghai Pinghe School) won by the same score at #6 to keep Brandeis in it.
• The final two matches were decided in three sets. Harrison won his second match of the day at #2, with a 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 win over Ishaan Kannan.
• The match was decided at #5, where the Beavers' Victor Li hung on against senior Hunter Levine (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay), 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

UP NEXT

• The Judges take on #25 University of Redlands tomorrow at 4 p.m. Eastern (1 pm. Pacific) in a match moved up a day because of rain in the forecast.