WALTHAM, Mass. -- The 24th-ranked Brandeis University men's tennis team faced a Division I opponent today, falling to the Bryan University Bulldogs, 8-1, in matches that counted toward the team records. The Judges also got three wins - two in doubles, one in singles - from the second half of their roster. Brandeis sees its three-match winning streak halted as they fall to 8-5 on the season.

In the 8-1 defeat, the lone win came from rookie Ryan Bunis (Groton, Mass./Groton-Dunstable) at fourth singles. After dropping the first set to Bryant's Ernest Arguello, 6-1, Bunis came back to win the second in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5). He then captured the third-set super-tiebreaker by a 10-4 margin. Bunis and classmate Jeff Cherkin (Melville, N.Y. / Half Hollow Hills East) nearly picked up a second point for the Judges, falling at No. 3 doubles, 8-6.

In the bottom half of the lineup, Brandeis earned one more singles win, as junior Ben Fine (Providence, R.I. / Moses Brown School), faced the Bulldogs' Alexander Ellwanger and won in similar fashion to Bunis. After dropping a first set, 6-2, Fine won a tiebreaker in the second, 7-6 (7-5), before dominating a third-set super-tiebreaker, 10-1.

The Judges also picked up two doubles wins. Seniors Evan Berner (McLean, Va./Langley) and Matthew Zuckerman (Valley Stream, N.Y. / George W. Hewlett) played at No. 4 doubles, while sophomore Kevin Dupont (No. Dighton, Mass. / Coyle-Cassidy) and rookie Kris Labovich (Newton, Mass./Newton North) won at No. 5. Both earned their wins by 7-6 scores. Berner and Zuckerman won their tiebreaker, 7-4, while Dupont and Labovich prevailed, 7-2. 

Brandeis returns to Division III play on Saturday, April 12 at home against Trinity College.