Box Score MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Brandeis men's tennis first-year Aidan Wang-Fan (Richmond Hill, Ont./Bill Crothers Secondary School) took home hardware from the Middlebury Invitational, winning the 'B' singles final as the Judges had finalists in four of the five brackets at the event.

Wang-Fan was impressive in winning the title, taking down three of the top four seeds. After defeating Nico Ozer of Bates, 6-4, 6-1, in the first round, Wang-Fan bested his first seed in the quarterfinals, when third-seeded Jason Daly of Colby retired after Wang-Fan established a 6-2, 4-3 lead. In the semis and finals, Wang-Fan went to a third-set super-tiebreaker to pull his upsets. He knocked off second-seeded Thehan Wijemanne of host Middlebury, 1-6, 6-4, 10-4 in the semifinals, then took down another Panther, Nikky Kondamuri, 6-4, 2-6, 10-8, to claim hardware. He was the second-straight Brandeis first-year to take the Middlebury 'B' doubles draw, after Huasen Dong (Richmond Hill, Ont./Richmond Green Second School) won it last year.

In 'B' doubles action, Wang-Fan also reached the finals along with fellow first-year Benjamin Kotzen (Austin, Texas/Austin Tennis Academy College Prep). They had a first-round bye, then knocked off a team from Bates in the quarters, 8-2. Wang-Fan picked up his second win over Daly of Colby, who was first-seeded, as the Judges won, 8-7 (7-3) in the semifinals. A pair from RPI took the finals, 8-4.

Grad student and 2023-24 All-American Dylan Walters (Baltimore, Md./Gilman School) reached both 'A' finals for the Judges. The top-seeded singles player in the field, Walters won 6-2, 6-2, over Alex Park from Bates in the first round and 6-2, 6-4, against Middlebury's Noah Lewis. Another Panther, Neel Epstein, tested Walters in the semifinals, but the Judge prevailed in three sets, 5-7, 6-3, 11-9. Third-seeded Aiden Drover-Matinen of RPI won the final match, 6-1, 6-4.

In the 'A' doubles bracket, Walters teamed with first-year Daniel Shemesh (Modiin, Israel/Ironi Hei School Modiin) to reach the finals for the second year in a row. They defeated a team from Bates, 8-5, in the first round, then eliminated the fourth seed from Colby, 8-7 (7-4) in the quarterfinals. They then upset the top seeds from Middlebury, 8-6, in the semifinals, before dropping an 8-3 decision to the third seeds, also from the home team.

Shemesh and sophomore Pierce Garbett (Coral Gables, Fla./Gulliver Prep) each won a first-round match in the 'A' singles draw as well. Shemesh beat Paul Dandler of Colby, 6-0, 6-4, before falling to Drover-Mattinen in the quarters, 6-1, 6-1. Garbett topped Tsubasa Okada of RPI, 7-5, 6-2, before falling to Epstein in the second round, 6-2, 6-3.
The Judges will compete in the ITA New England Regionals next weekend at Tufts University.