The men’s and women’s tennis teams played three matches over the weekend, going 2-1 overall. The women came away with two blowout wins, while the men struggled in their lone match against New York University, falling 6-3.

Judges 5, NYU 4

The women ended their weekend on Sunday with yet another win, extending their win streak to six games dating back to Feb. 23. The team avenged their 4-5 loss against the same NYU team last year during a tough early-season stretch. 

The number-21-ranked Judges came close to a clean sweep of the doubles bracket, taking two of the three matches on the day. Sabrina Ross Neergaard ’20 paired with Olivia Leavitt ’19 to stave off their opponents 8-4. Michele Lehat ’19 and  Keren Khromchenko ’19 took the third court in a 9-8 (7-4) nailbiter. 

The Judges split the singles bracket, closing out wins in three of the six matches. Neergaard took the number one court in style, knocking out her opponent in a 6-3, 6-3 victory. Khromchenko bageled her opponent in two straight sets, sweeping the third court for the Judges. Leavitt followed in sync, tacking on another Judges victory in a 6-4, 6-4 match.

Judges 9, St. Lawrence 0

The Judges rolled through their first matchup of the weekend, dismantling St. Lawrence University in a 9-0 rout. The squad outperformed their previous 5-1 victory over the team in last year’s Nor’Easter Bowl. The team swept the doubles courts, with the Leavitt-Neergaard duo paving the way on the number one court. Haley Cohen ’18 and Ariana Ishaq ’19 hit their way through to a 8-5 win on the number two court, while Lehat and Khromchenko beat out their opponents in the final spot. 

On the singles courts, Ishaq stole the day with a double-bagel in the sixth spot. Leavitt was right behind with a 6-1, 6-1 branding of her opponent, while Cohen managed a near-double-bagel with a 6-1, 6-0 impressive victory.

With their win against NYU, the Judges improved to 8-1 on the season, cementing their position atop the standings. The team will continue its quest for a top-10 rank against Middlebury College on March 18. 

Judges 3, NYU 6

The Number 32 men’s team matched up against a solid NYU team, but were heavily favored going into the day. Last season, the Judges cruised past NYU with a 7-2 win, but the tides changed this year with NYU taking six of the nine matches. 

The team struggled in doubles, coming away with only one tight win.  Michael Arguello ’17 and Brian Granoff ’17 pulled away with a close 9-8 win on the number one court to propel the Judges to just a 1-2 overall doubles record.

The two losses proved costly, with the Judges losing another four matches in the singles bracket, unable to make any comeback. Arguello lost in surprising fashion, 6-1, 6-2 on the number one singles court. Meanwhile, Granoff swept the number two court with a cool 6-0, 6-3 victory. Tyler Ng ’19 followed suit in the number three spot, capturing a 6-1, 6-3 win. The Judges could not hold on, though, ceding the last three courts to NYU. Jackson Kogan ’19 managed to push his match to a third set, only to fall 6-3 in the final set. 

The Judges fell to 4-3 on the season, after opening their season with three straight wins.  Having dropped three of their last four after the strong start, the squad is looking for answers to get back to their winning ways.  All of the potential is clearly there, and they will hope to bring back their recipe for success from the beginning of the year.  With the season of tennis  still young, the team will continue its push for gold against Middlebury College on March 18.