WALTHAM, Mass. -- The Tufts University women's tennis team, ranked sixth in the newest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll released earlier this week, defended their ranking increase with an easy 8-1 victory over #21 Brandeis University on Saturday morning.
Head coach Kate Bayard's Jumbos improved to 5-2. The Judges fall to 6-3 with the loss.
The match started indoors with doubles. Brandeis got its only point at No. 2, where rookie Lauren Bertsch and junior Michele Lehat were 8-6 victors to even the match at 1-1. Tufts' third pair of Zoe Miller and Kat Wiley had won 8-2 to start things off. The Jumbos emerged victorious at No. 1, 8-5, as the team of Otilia Popa and Mina Karamercan upended Brandeis senior Haley Cohen and junior Olivia Leavitt to put the Jumbos up 2-1.
In singles action, Tufts earned straight-set wins at #s 1, 2 and 6, to clinch the victory. Freshman Patricia Obeid at #1 gave up just four games and Karamercan at #2 lost just one. Wiley was also a quick winner at #6 singles, 6-2 and 6-1.
For Brandeis, Bertsch and Leavitt had the most competitive singles matches in the middle of the lineup. At No. 3, Leavitt played the only three-set match, falling to Jumbo Lauren Louks, 6-4, 4-6, 10-3. At No. 4, Bertsch extended Tomo Iwasaki to a tiebreaker in the first set before falling, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.
The Jumbos will play a second match on Saturday at home versus NESCAC foe Bates Collge starting at 3 p.m. Brandeis returns to action on Thursday against Division II Stonehill.
Part of this release courtesy of Brandeis University
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