WALTHAM, Mass. – For the first time in program history, the Brandeis University women's tennis team will be making an appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The 12-7 Judges were selected as an at-large Pool 'C' team from the University Athletic Association, one of four selections from the league.
The Judges will travel to Wesleyan University for their first-round match against Penn State-Abington on Friday, May 10. Match time and ticket prices will be announced.
The Brandeis women posted a 12-7 record during the regular season and are currently ranked a program-best #8 in the nation in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III rankings. They picked up nationally-ranked wins against six other nationally-ranked opponents, including a key win at then-sixth-ranked Bowdoin. The Judges earned the second seed in the UAA tournament, where they knocked off Case Western Reserve, 5-0, in the first round before falling to fellow NCAA participants Chicago and Carnegie Mellon. Brandeis's fourth-place finish was their best in the 14-year tenure of head coach Ben Lamanna and their best since placing third in 2004.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Judges and Penn State-Abington (8-6), which won the North Eastern Athletic Conference. If they were to advance, the Judges would meet the winner of a first-round match between Brooklyn and #16 Skidmore in the second round. The Judges defeated the Thoroughbreds, 6-3, earlier this season. The regional host, #4 Wesleyan University, would be expected to be waiting in the Round of 16 after receiving a bye and facing the winner of a first-round match between Messiah and Rhode Island College in the second round.
Brandeis is led by a trio of seniors in the starting lineup: Olivia Leavitt (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth), who plays 1st doubles and 2nd singles; Keren Khromchenko (Manalapan, N.J./Academy of Allied Health and Science) at 2nd doubles and third singles; and Sophia He (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Spackenkill), at 3rd doubles and 6th singles.
Other starters on the team are junior Diana Dehterevich (Minsk, Belarus / Secondary School #185 of Minsk), who plays 1st singles and 2nd doubles; sophomore Lauren Bertsch (Middletown, R.I./LaSalle Academy), at 1st doubles and 4th singles; and rookie Ana Hatfield (Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic Central), at 3rd doubles and 5th singles.
FULL 2019 NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN'S TENNIS TOURNAMENT BRACKET