ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The Brandeis University men's tennis team outperformed its seed today, as the sixth-seeded Judges knocked off fifth-seeded Carnegie Mellon, 5-3, in the fifth-place match at the 2022 University Athletic Association championships. With the win, the Judges – ranked 14th in Division III by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association – finish their regular season with a 12-6 record. The Tartans – ranked 22nd by the ITA – fall to 6-12.
The Judges opened strong with a 2-1 lead after doubles. Seniors Adam Tzeng (Eagle, Idaho/Eagle) and Jeffrey Chen (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) finished the tournament with a 2-1 record thanks to an 8-5 win at #1. After CMU took an 8-4 decision at #2, Brandeis senior Colt Tegtemeier (Madison, Wisc./James Madison Memorial) and first-year Aryan Nijhawan (Shrewsbury, Mass./Westborough) gave the Judges the edge with an 8-5 win at #3.
Carnegie Mellon tied things up early in singles action when Jonathan Nottingham knocked off Brandeis sophomore Chen Liang (Shanghai, China / Shanghai Pinghe School), 6-2, 6-2, at #6. The top of the Judges' order put Brandeis in control, as Tzeng defeated Sam Gibson, 6-2, 6-2, at #1, and Chen topped Nicholas Wernink for the second time on the day, 6-4, 6-3. The Tartans fended off defeat at #5 when Benny Zhou defeated junior Simon Kauppila (Chesterfield, Mo./Marquette), 7-5, 6-2. The Judges clinched the victory at #3, where sophomore Dylan Walters (Baltimore, Md./Gilman School) came from a set down to defeat William Wang, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
The Judges' regular season is now complete, as they will await a possible NCAA tournament bid in May.