WALTHAM, Mass. – The 25^th-ranked Brandeis University women's tennis team took on rival #17 Babson in their home opener today, and the visiting Beavers rallied to edge the Judges, 4-3, in the Gosman Athletic Center.

TEAM RECORDS                                                                                                                                 

• Brandeis, 0-5, #25 nationally in ITA Division III Rankings.
• Babson, 1-0, #17 nationally in ITA Division III Rankings.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges got off to a quick start in doubles action, with seniors Cecilia Denis (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) and Anastasia Sia (Thessaloniki, Greece/Anatolia College) opening with a 6-2 win at #3.
• Babson's Olivia Soffer and Matia Cristiani, the 2024 Division III NCAA Champions met Brandeis senior Bhakti Parwani (Ahmedabad, India/Kumkum School) and junior Rebecca Suarez (New York, N.Y./International Virtual Learning Academy) at #1. The teams broke serve in each of the first three games before the Beavers held in game 4 to take a 3-1 lead. The teams then held serve the rest of the way as Babson won, 6-4, making the doubles point come down to #2.
• At the second spot, the Brandeis tandem of sophomores Chahana Budhbhatti (Ahmedabad, India/Aavishkar School) and Nancy Zhang (Shanghai, China/Shanghai International Division) met Chaniel Soffer and Alessandra Cristiani, younger sisters of Babson's top duo. Brandeis got the first break of the set in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead, then held to go up, 4-2. The Babson duo earned their first break in Game 8, tying the set at 4-all. After the teams held serve to get to 6-5, Babson, the Judges were unable to hold to force the tiebreaker, and the Beavers earned a 7-5 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
• In singles action, the Beavers quickly extended their lead with a 6-2, 6-1, win for Matia Cristiani over Parwani.
• Brandeis got their first point at #1, where Suarez avenged her loss to Olivia Soffer, 7-5, 6-4, but the Beavers got within one point of victory as Alessandra Cristiani defeated Zhang, 6-3, 6-0.
• Sia completed a 2-0 afternoon with a 6-3, 6-1, win at #5, moving Brandeis within 3-2.
• In the key match of the day, Budhbhatti and Chaniel Soffer met for the second time at #3, the two played a marathon match that lasted nearly three hours. Budhbhatti couldn't make an early break in the first set, and the pair went to a tiebreaker, which Soffer controlled, 7-0. The pair traded breaks in the first two games of the second set. They each held in the next two games, then saw the next five games all feature service breaks, giving Budhbhatti a 5-4 lead. She held on in the last game to force a third set, 6-4. The two held serve over the first three games, but a break for Soffer gave her a 3-1 lead. Budhbhatti was unable to recreate her magic from the second set, and Soffer went on complete the 7-6 (7-0), 4-6, 6-2 win, clinching victory for the visitors.
• The final match of the day saw first-year Charly Saltz (Natick, Mass./Learning Post Academy) earn a 6-3, 6-1, win at #6.
• This was the Judges' second 4-3 loss to a team ranked ahead of them in the polls this season, having lost to #19 Redlands as well.

UP NEXT

• The Judges head to Colby College next Sunday, March 16, for a 2 p.m. match.