LUDLOW, Mass. – The 21^st-ranked women's tennis team, playing without two of their top singles players, battled #6 Amherst College before falling, 6-3, at the Mammoths' indoor facility in Ludlow, Mass.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis: 3-4, ranked #21 in Division III by Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
• Amherst: 1-2, ranked #6.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges took a lead after doubles action, just missing out on a sweep.
• Brandeis opened with an 8-5 win at #2, where first-year Mandy Reyes (Barcelona, Spain/Laurel Springs School) and sophomore Nancy Zhang (Shanghai, China/Shanghai International) took an 8-5 win.
• The other two matches were decided by tiebreakers. First-year Chahana Budhbhatti (Ahmedabad, India/Aavishkar School) and junior Cecilia Denis (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) pulled out their win at #3, 8-7 (7-4), but the Mammoths outlasted Brandeis juniors Sabrina Loui (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) and Bhakti Parwani (Ahmedabad, India/Kumkum School), 8-7 (7-5), to avoid the sweep.
• Already missing sophomore Rebecca Suarez (Huntington, N.Y./International Virtual Learning Academy) from the lineup, Parwani was unable compete during the singles competition, forcing the rest of the Judges to play a spot up from their regular positions.
• Amherst took a 4-2 lead with wins at #4, #5 and #1, but the Judges had a chance in the final three matches as they pushed the home team to three sets in two of them.
• Reyes earned a 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) win at #6 to get on the board and make it 4-3.
• At both #2 and #3, the home team came from behind, as Zhang suffered a 6-4, 2-6, 1-6 loss at #2, and first-year Lika Bolkvadze (Tbilisi, Georgia/The European School-American High School) went down, 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, at #3, to close out the win for the Mammoths.

UP NEXT

• The Judges play their second home match of the season next Saturday at 2 p.m. when they play host to #34 Colby.