SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Brandeis men's tennis team, ranked 20th in Division III, opened their 2018 campaign with a 6-2 win over Division II Point Loma Nazarene today in the first of four matches as part of their February break trip to California. The Judges improve to 1-0 with the win, while the Sea Lions fall to 2-2.
The Judges started with a doubles sweep by the thinnest of margins. Rookies Nikhil Das (Smithfield, R.I. / Moses Brown School) and Rajan Vohra (Glen Head, N.Y. / North Shore) got the team's first point at No. 3 with an 8-5 victory. Brandeis's other two wins came in tiebreakers. Sophomore David Aizenberg (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park) and Anupreeth Coramutla (Monroe Township, N.J. / Phillips Andover) won 8-7 (7-5) at the No. 1 position, while juniors Tyler Ng (Great Neck, N.Y. / Great Neck South) and Jackson Kogan (Pacific Palisades, Calif. / Windward School) completed the sweep at No. 2, 8-7, (7-2).
In singles action, Point Loma cut the Brandeis lead to 3-2 with a pair of straight-set wins. Thomas Dafcik defeated Kogan, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 1, while Yuki Okamoto topped Coramutla at No. 3, 6-1, 6-4. Sophomore Benjamin Wolfe (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) earned the Judges' first singles point, 7-6, 6-4, at No. 6.
The Judges clinched the match with a pair of three-set wins. Vohra clinched the win at No. 4, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1, while Das rallied from a set down for a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, win at No. 5. Aizenberg's match at No. 2 was not finished because of rain.
The Judges continue their four-match western trip on Wednesday afternoon at Cal Lutheran University at 6:00 p.m. Eastern/3:00 p.m. Pacific.