ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The Brandeis University women's tennis team wrapped up its 2018 season today at the University Athletic Association tournament as the Judges - seeded seventh headed into the tournament - finished in sixth place after suffering a 7-2 defeat at the hands of Case Western Reserve University.
Brandeis picked up its two wins at No. 4 and 5 singles. Senior Haley Cohen (Cherry Hill, N.J./Laurel Hills Prep) won her final collegiate match at No. 4, 6-1, 6-1. Cohen went 4-2 in singles and doubles during the tournament and finished her career with 82 victories for the Judges. Rookie Lauren Bertsch (Middletown, R.I./LaSalle Academy) completed a perfect 3-0 singles run through the tournament and a 5-1 overall record with a 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 5.
Overall, one of the big differences in the match came in tiebreakers, where the Judges dropped went 1-3 against the Spartans. In doubles, Bertsch suffered her only loss of the tournament at No. 2, where she and junior Olivia Leavitt (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) fell 9-8 (7-2). The two three-set singles matches of the day were decided in third-set super-tiebreakers after the match had been decided. Junior Keren Khromchenko (Manalapan, N.J./Academy of Allied Health and Sciences), playing at No. 2, won a first-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5), but fell in the next two sets, 6-4 and 10-4 in the super. Classmate Michele Lehat (Great Neck, N.Y./John L. Miller Great Neck North) fell at No. 6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-10.
The 21st-ranked Judges end their season with an 11-8 record, while the No. 16 Spartans finish up at 15-4. This marks the fifth-straight year the Judges have placed sixth in the conference.