Ross Neergaard picks up two first-round wins at ITA regionals

Sabrina Ross Neergaard '20 (Photo by Tim Farrell)
Sabrina Ross Neergaard '20 (Photo by Tim Farrell)

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Brandeis women's tennis team sent five members to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association championships at Williams College this weekend. The Judges won three first-round matches, but were unable to get past the second.

In singles action, sophomore Sabrina Ross Neergaard (Port Orchard, Wash./Laurel Springs Prep) was seeded seventh in the bracket. She defeated Catherine Peabody of Mount Holyoke in the opening round, 6-0 6-4, but was on the wrong side of an upset in the second, falling to MIT's Lara Rakocevic, 6-2, 6-1.

Junior Keren Khromchenko (Manalapan, N.J./Allied Academy of Health and Science) rolled past Joanna Kim of Smith, 6-1, 6-0, but couldn't hang on against fourth-seeded and tournament semifinalist Camille Smukler of Amherst, 6-4, 6-3.

Senior Haley Cohen (Cherry Hill, N.J./Laurel Springs Prep) and sophomore Diana Dehterevich (Minsk, Belarus / Secondary School #185 of Minsk) both were knocked off in the first round. Cohen fell to Yagmur Akgul of Babson, 6-4, 6-3, while Dehterevich lost to ninth-seeded Tess Trinka of Bowdoin, 6-2, 6-4.

In doubles action, Dehterevich and Ross Neergaard earned a fifth seed. They defeated Berry and Hall of Gordon College, 8-3, but Babson's Ackgul struck again, teaming with Tutecky to knock off the Judges, 8-2. Brandeis's second team of Cohen and rookie Lauren Bertsch (Middletown, R.I. / LaSalle Academy) fell in the first round to another fifth-seed, Louks and Popa of Tufts, 8-5.

The Judges return to action in two weeks for the NEWITT Tournament at Amherst.