Box Score
ST. LOUIS, Mo. --- Brandeis University men's tennis senior Dylan Walters (Baltimore, Md./Gilman School) needed a pair of tiebreakers, but the Judges' #1 singles player advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Singles Championships, clinching All-America status with a 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-0) victory. Walters dropped his second-round match to fourth-seeded Vuk Vuksanovic of Tufts, 7-5, 1-6, 3-6.

"Upon hearing of his selection into this year's NCAA individual singles tournament, Dylan has been on a  mission," said head coach Christo Schultz. "Without the academic load of classes, Dylan used the extra time to commit fully to his game. In the weeks leading up to the tournament, Dylan put in the work and stayed committed to the process, so it's no surprise he persevered through a particularly challenging first round today.

"Dylan kept his cool in many high-pressure moments and he took advantage of opportunities when given. But to his credit, upon being congratulated on his new All-American status, his response was 'Yea, well…we still have work to do'.  And his attention turned entirely to the second round."

Walters, who carried a 16-8 record this season, met 22-3 Arthur Hermange of Augustana (Ill.) University in his first round match. The pair were evenly matched in the first set, with both players holding serve through the first 10 games. Hermange broke through first, breaking Walters in the 11^th game to take a 6-5 lead and serve for the set. Walters bounced right back in the next game, breaking at 15-40, to force the first tiebreaker. He won the first two points of the breaker, going ahead 5-2 and finishing it off, 7-6 (7-2).

In the second set, Hermange got off to a fast start, winning the first three games. He broke Walters in the second at 40-30, taking advantage of two of Walters' three double-faults for the match, then held serve at love to go up, 3-0.

Walters responded with a win at 40-15 for his first game of the set, then earned a break at deuce in the next game.  He consolidated at love to even things up a 3-all. Walters had a chance to make it four in a row when he got to deuce in Game 7, but Hermange won the next point for the hold. Neither player faced a break point the rest of the set until the tiebreaker. Walters dominated the second tiebreaker, not allowing Hermange a point in a 7-6 (7-0) win.

With the win, Walters becomes the seventh Brandeis player to earn All-America honors for men's tennis, the fourth in singles. He is the first singles player since Anupreeth Coramutla '21 earned honors in 2021.

In the second round, Walters met Vuk Vuksanovic of Tufts University, the fourth seed in the tournament. The two had met twice this season, with Walters winning in the fall when the Jumbo player withdrew after losing the first set. In the second, Vuksanovic earned a 6-2, 6-2, victory.

Today's match got off to a close start. The two players earned breaks of serve in the first two games, both allowing the serving player to win just one point. Walters earned another break in game four and consolidated to take a 4-1 lead. Vuksanovic bounced back with a break in game seven to get back on serve at 4-3. The players would hold served for the next four games, giving Walters a 6-5 lead. In Game 12, he picked up his third break of the set at 40-15 to win, 7-5, his third-straight seven-game set win of the tournament.

Vuksanovic got the second set off to a fast start, breaking at 40-15. After Walters broke back at love, Vuksanovic went on a tear. He won five-straight games to take the second, 6-1, not allowing Walters more than two points in a game in the process.

In the decisive third set, the first three games were on serve, but the next five all featured breaks. After Vuksanovic broke Walters at 40-30 to go ahead, 5-3, he snapped the string, closing out the match with a love game to advance to tomorrow's quarterfinals, 6-3.

Walters finishes his season with a 17-9 record and will return to Brandeis next year for a graduate year, with three other first-year starters.