THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The 31st-ranked Brandeis men's tennis team fell just short of an upset at No. 20 Cal Lutheran University yesterday, as the Judges fell to the Kingsmen, 5-4, in the second of four matches on their annual western swing.

Brandeis (2-1) jumped out to a 2-1 lead in doubles action. Sophomore Brian Granoff (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) and junior Danny Lubarsky (Cleveland, Ohio/Hawken School) opened with an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles, while sophomores Jeffrey Cherkin (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) and Michael Arguello (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) rolled to an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles. The hosts got their doubles point at No. 3, where Gio Valdez and Oliver Thornton took an 8-5 decision over juniors Eric Miller (San Diego, Calif. / Francis Parker) and Kevin Dupont (No. Dighton, Mass. / Coyle-Cassidy)

CLU (1-1) bounced back in singles action, with Moises Cardenas avenging his doubles loss to Granoff, 6-1, 6-1, at the top spot. Ian Slater defeated the Judges' Ryan Bunis (Groton, Mass. / Groton-Dunstable) at second singles, 6-2, 6-1, while Thornton topped Miller again at No. 5, 6-2, 6-1.

The Judges got on the board in singles action at No. 6, where senior co-captain Alec Siegel (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) bested Jesse Knight of the home team, 6-2, 7-5. The final two matches of the day went three sets. Arguello picked up his second win of the afternoon at No. 3 singles, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. The match was decided at No. 4, where Valdez rallied from a set down to knock off Lubarsky, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, to stave off the Judges' upset bid.

Brandeis is back in action on Friday afternoon against another ranked team, #21 Redlands. They will close out their California trip on Saturday against second-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.