Box Score WALTHAM, MASS. – For the second-straight day, the 18th-ranked Brandeis University women's tennis team defeated a higher-ranked team as the Judges topped #13 Skidmore College, 6-3, on the Rieger Tennis Courts. In one of their final home matches, the Judges celebrated their seniors before the match, and the Class of 2019 went 4-0 in singles and 6-1 overall. With the win, Brandeis improves to 9-4, while Skidmore falls to 9-4.
The Judges got out to a 2-1 lead after doubles action. Senior Sophia He (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Spackenkill) teamed with rookie Ana Hatfield (Rockford, Ill. / Boylan Central Catholic) for an 8-6 win at #3 to start the scoring. Senior Keren Khromchenko (Manalapan, N.J. / Academy of Allied Health and Science) and junior Diana Dehterevich (Minsk, Belarus / Secondary School #185 of Minsk) took an 8-5 decision at #2 to guarantee the lead for Brandeis headed into singles. Skidmore got on the board at #1 in a tiebreaker as Risa Fukushige and Renee Karchere-Sun knocked off senior Olivia Leavitt (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) and sophomore Lauren Bertsch (Middletown, R.I./LaSalle Academy), 8-7 (7-4).
Skidmore tied the match up at 2-2 as #4, where Lily Feldman knocked off Bertsch, 6-3, 6-4. Leavitt got things back on track at #2 with a 6-4, 6-0 win, but Skidmore tied things up again at 3-3 when Fukushige knocked off Dehterevich at #1, 6-3, 6-2.
Senior Michele Lehat (Great Neck, N.Y./James L. Miller Great Neck North) got the Judges within one point of victory with a 6-3, 6-2, win at #6, setting the stage for a pair of three-set wins. He clinched the match with a back-and-forth win, 6-0, 3-6, 6-1, at #5. Khromchenko had a terrific rally in the longest match of the afternoon. After falling behind 6-7 (5-7), she won the second, 6-4, then came from 8-4 down in the third-set super tiebreaker, winning the final six points for a 10-8 victory and the 6-3 final.
The Judges hit the road for two more matches against higher-ranked squads, next week, starting with a match at #7 Tufts on Thursday before meeting #14 Bowdoin next Saturday.
