BRONX, N.Y. – The Brandeis University men's tennis team saw their first taste of University Athletic Association play today, taking on rivals NYU at the Stadium Tennis Center in the Bronx. The #24 Violets edged the Judges, 5-4.
Brandeis had a chance to earn a top-30 upset, taking a 4-2 lead in the Violets, but NYU was able to rally by winning the top four singles spots to earn the victory.
Brandeis took a 2-1 lead after doubles action, winning at the second and third spots with two rookie-junior pairings. At No. 2, it was Brian Granoff (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) and Michael Secular (Bronx, N.Y./Plant, Fla.), while the No. 3 team was Jeff Cherkin (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) and Alec Siegel (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield). Both won by a score of 8-2. NYU rescued a double point at No. 1 where Steve Wu and Aaron Meltzer knocked off Brandeis's Michael Arguello (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) and Danny Lubarsky (Cleveland, Ohio/Hawken), 8-5.
NYU's CJ Leong avenged his doubles loss to Granoff at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 6-2, to even the match, but Brandeis took the next two matches to finish as Siegel and Secular completed 2-0 days. Siegel defeated NYU's Matt DeMichiel at No. 5, 6-4, 6-4, while Secular, a Bronx native, was a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Han Ren Lim at No. 6.
At No. 1, Wu earned another straight-set win, 6-4, 7-5, over Arguello, to cut Brandeis's lead to 4-3, as the final two matches went the full three sets. Both Brandeis players pulled out the second set, but the Violets were able to survive in the third to earn the win. At No. 3, Meltzer survived with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 win over Lubarsky, while Sidd Thangirala and Brandeis rookie Ryan Bunis (Groton, Mass./Groton-Dunstable) played a tight match in which each set was decided by just one break, with Thangirala pulling out the 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win to clinch the match.
Brandeis falls to 4-3 with their third loss to at top-25 team. NYU improves to 3-0 with the win. The Judges return to action on March 22 when they travel to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy for a 1 p.m. match.