WALTHAM, Mass. -- The Brandeis University men's tennis team, ranked 30th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III rankings, won four of six singles matches, but it wasn't enough to overcome a doubles sweep as the Judges lost visiting Bates College, 5-4, on the Rieger Tennis courts today.
The key match of the day came at No. 2 doubles. After the Bobcats picked up 8-4 wins at the No. 1 and 3 positions, Brandeis rookie Brian Granoff (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) and junior Michael Secular (Bronx, N.Y./Plant, Fla.) were locked in an evenly-fought match with Bates's Ben Bogard and Peter Yanofsky. The sides traded early breaks, then held serve throught out the rest of the match. As it stretched on towards two hours, the Judges forced a tiebreaker, but the Bobcats came out firing, and did not give up a point in earning a 9-8 (7-0) win to complete the doubles sweep and take a 3-0 lead.
In singles action, rookie Jeff Cherkin (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) opened the scoring for the Judges with a 6-3, 6-4, win at No. 6. Bates picked up their fourth point at No. 2 singles, where Pierre Planche earned his second win of the day with a 6-3, 6-3.
The rest of the day's matches each went three sets. Granoff, ranked 23rd in the Northeast region, scored a nice win over 15th-ranked Timmy Berg. Granoff bounced back from dropping the second set to earn a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory. The Bobcats clinched the match at No. 5, where Patrick Ordway outlasted Brandeis junior Alec Siegel (Deerfield, Ill/Deerfield), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Brandeis earned two late wins at three and four that went to super-tiebreakers. Sophomore Danny Lubarsky (Cleveland, Ohio/Hawken School) took a 6-3, 2-6, 10-6 win in the third spot. Rookie Ryan Bunis (Groton, Mass./Groton Dunstable) then needed a tiebreaker in all three of his sets at No. 4 against Henry Lee of the Bobcats. Bunis lost the first, 4-7, but won the second, 7-2, and the super, 10-4.
Brandeis returns to action Monday for a Senior Day match against MIT before the UAA tournament in Florida.