Spring Break
TENNIS: Teams kick off fall season
by Julie Ganz
Sports editor
Sports | 9/16/08
Posted online at 2:01 AM EST on 9/16/08
Behind 9-8 in a deciding third-set super-tiebreaker in the championship match at last weekend's Eastern College Athletic Conference Open Tennis Championships at Trinity College, women's tennis player Rachel Rosman '11 was one point away from losing the match.
Instead of folding, Rosman regrouped, hitting a passing shot against Bowdoin College's senior Sara D'Elia, who was at the net, to tie the score before winning the next two points to earn the gold medal in the Flight A singles bracket.
"I was really excited. It was really close the whole way through, so it really just came down to a couple of points, so that was probably one of … my proudest wins," Rosman said.
Rosman's victory led Brandeis to a second-place finish out of seven teams at the two-day tournament, the squad's first tournament of the season. The Judges earned 13.5 points to finish behind Bowdoin, which captured the tournament with 19 points.
After defeating her first two opponents in straight sets last Saturday, Rosman split the first two sets against D'Elia, winning the first 6-4 before losing the second 6-1, to set up the tiebreaker.
"[D'Elia's] a very good player … . She's very consistent," Rosman said. "She made me play every ball, she made very few errors, so it was a very, very close match the whole way through."
Assistant coach Ethan Branum said that the victory helps demonstrate Rosman's progression.
"We now know that she has what it takes to not just compete with some of the top players in the country, but to actually [beat] them," he said.
Three other Judges faced Bowdoin players in the finals but fell in straight sets. Sarah Richman '12 lost to Bowdoin's Brett Davis 6-2, 6-0 after defeating Connecticut College's sophomore Andrea Soriano 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in her collegiate debut.
"[The first match] was a really close match," Richman said. "We went back and forth the whole time."
In their first match as a doubles team, Ria Chadha '11 and Davida Judelson '12 reached the finals before losing to Bowdoin seniors Charlotte Hitch and Rachel Waldman 6-0, 6-0.
Instead of folding, Rosman regrouped, hitting a passing shot against Bowdoin College's senior Sara D'Elia, who was at the net, to tie the score before winning the next two points to earn the gold medal in the Flight A singles bracket.
"I was really excited. It was really close the whole way through, so it really just came down to a couple of points, so that was probably one of … my proudest wins," Rosman said.
Rosman's victory led Brandeis to a second-place finish out of seven teams at the two-day tournament, the squad's first tournament of the season. The Judges earned 13.5 points to finish behind Bowdoin, which captured the tournament with 19 points.
After defeating her first two opponents in straight sets last Saturday, Rosman split the first two sets against D'Elia, winning the first 6-4 before losing the second 6-1, to set up the tiebreaker.
"[D'Elia's] a very good player … . She's very consistent," Rosman said. "She made me play every ball, she made very few errors, so it was a very, very close match the whole way through."
Assistant coach Ethan Branum said that the victory helps demonstrate Rosman's progression.
"We now know that she has what it takes to not just compete with some of the top players in the country, but to actually [beat] them," he said.
Three other Judges faced Bowdoin players in the finals but fell in straight sets. Sarah Richman '12 lost to Bowdoin's Brett Davis 6-2, 6-0 after defeating Connecticut College's sophomore Andrea Soriano 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in her collegiate debut.
"[The first match] was a really close match," Richman said. "We went back and forth the whole time."
In their first match as a doubles team, Ria Chadha '11 and Davida Judelson '12 reached the finals before losing to Bowdoin seniors Charlotte Hitch and Rachel Waldman 6-0, 6-0.
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