LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Brandeis University men's tennis team opened its 2013 dual-match season with a dramatic 5-4 win over Occidental College on the West Coast on Monday afternoon. The Judges trailed the Tigers, 4-2, before coming back to win three three-set matches and take the victory. 

In doubles actiom, Brandeis's lone win came at the No. 3 spot, where senior Dave Yovanoff (Eden, N.Y./Eden) and sophomore Michael Secular (Bronx, N.Y./Plant, Fla.) took  a 9-7 decision. Sophomore Alec Siegel (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) and rookie Mitch Krems (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Century Acad.) went to a tiebreaker at No. 2, but fell, 9-8 (9-7). 

Krems rallied in singles action, earning Brandeis' only straight-set win at No. 5, 6-4, 6-2. After Occidental won at Nos. 3 and 4 to move within one point of winning, the Judges started their comeback. Siegel had one of the toughest matches at No. 6, winning a pair of tiebreakers to emerge with Brandeis's third point, 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-6 (7-4). At the top spot, senior Steven Milo (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) bounced back from a first set in which he did not win a game to take the second and third sets, winning a long tiebreaker in the third, 9-7, to square the match - 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7).

That left senior Josh Jordan (Northboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional) in the final match at No. 2 singles. Jordan won the first set, 6-4, before dropping the second in a tiebreaker, 6-7 (6-8). In the decisive set for the entire match, Jordan won, 6-4, to clinch Brandeis's first victory of the season.

The Judges return to action on Tuesday at California Lutheran. 

NCAA DIVISION III MEN'S TENNIS

at Los Angeles, Calif.

Brandeis 5, Occidental 4

SINGLES

1.  Steven Milo (Brandeis) beat Josh Dancu (Oxy), 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7)

2.  Josh Jordan (Brandeis) beat Stephen Perkins (Oxy), 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4

3.  Jordan Brown (Oxy) beat Dave Yovanoff (Brandeis), 6-1, 6-1

4.  Kevin Siebs (Oxy) beat Michael Secular (Brandeis), 6-4, 6-4

5.  Mitch Krems (Brandeis) beat Jaime Grossman (Oxy), 6-4, 6-2

6.  Alec Siegel (Brandeis) beat Kevin Zhao (Oxy), 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-6 (4)