THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The Brandeis men's tennis team, ranked No. 30 in Division III suffered their first setback of the season, a 6-3 loss to Cal Lutheran University, the No. 7 team in the nation.
The Judges had the early edge in the contest after taking two out of three doubles matches. Seniors Simon Miller (Plantation, Fla./Plantation) and Nick White (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley), ranked 17th as a tandem gave the visitors the edge headed into singles play with a late break to earn a 9-7 victory at No. 1. Senior Ezra Bernstein (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors School) and sophomore Josh Jordan (Northboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional) earned the first point of the match at No. 3 doubles with an easy 8-2 triumph.
Singles action went primarily the way of the Kingsmen. Jordan, playing at No. 6, earned a 6-4, 7-5, victory to become a double winner on the day, but the rest of the lineup went in straight sets. White challenged Nick Ballou, the No. 3 player in the nation who was playing at No. 2 singles, but fell, 6-4, 6-3. Miller hung tough in the first set with No. 19-ranked Andrew Guiffrida at No. 1 singles, falling 6-4, 6-1.
Brandeis continues its tour of the Golden State on Wednesday evening against No. 20 Pomona Pitzer.
#7 Cal Lutheran 6, #30 Brandeis 3
Feb 22, 2011 at Thousand Oaks, CA (Poulson Tennis Courts)
| Singles competition |
| 1. #19 Andrew Giuffrida (CLU) def. Simon Miller (BRMTEN) 6-4, 6-1 |
| 2. #3 Nick Ballou (CLU) def. Nick White (BRMTEN) 6-4, 6-3 |
| 3. #38 Ray Worley (CLU) def. Steven Milo (BRMTEN) 6-3, 6-3 |
| 4. Justin Wilson (CLU) def. Dave Yovanoff (BRMTEN) 6-3, 6-2 |
| 5. Marcelo Sousa (CLU) def. Ezra Bernstein (BRMTEN) 6-1, 6-4 |
| 6. Josh Jordan (BRMTEN) def. Cody Kowalczyk (CLU) 6-4, 7-5 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. #17 Simon Miller/Nick White (BRMTEN) def. Nick Ballou/Ray Worley (CLU) 9-7 |
| 2. Andrew Giuffrida/Justin Wilson (CLU) def. Steven Milo/Dave Yovanoff (BRMTEN) 8-2 |
| 3. Josh Jordan/Ezra Bernstein (BRMTEN) def. Marcelo Sousa/Ben Inchalik (CLU) 8-2 |
| Match Notes |
| Brandeis 2-1; National ranking #30; Regional ranking #9 |
| Cal Lutheran 2-3; National ranking #7; Regional ranking #3 |