#20 women's tennis falls to Wellesley, 6-3

Lauren Bertsch '21
Lauren Bertsch '21

WELLESLEY, Mass. (taken from a Wellesley College press release) -- The Brandeis women's tennis team jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles, but the 20th-ranked Judges could only pick up one win in singles as they were upset by Wellesley College, 6-3, this afternoon on the road. Brandeis falls to 1-5 this season, while Wellesley improves to 2-3. 

Blue sophomore Cinji Lee (Seoul, South Korea) and senior Korina Hernandez (Tampa, Fla.) opened the match with an 8-2 Blue victory over sophomore Summer Quinn (Los Angeles, Calif./Campbell Hall Episcopal) and Grace Wang (Clyde Hill, Wash./International Community) at No. 3 doubles. However, the Judges responded with back-to-back 8-6 victories in the top two singles matches to take a 2-1 lead into singles action. Junior Lauren Bertsch (Middletown, R.I./LaSalle Academy) and sophomore Ana Hatfield (Rockford, Ill./Boylan Central Catholic) earned the win at #1, while junior Rachel Zubrinsky (Waxhaw, N.C./Marvin Ridge) and sophomore Isabel Cepeda (Mason, Ohio/William Mason) gave the Judges the lead at #2. 

In singles, Wellesley sophomore Michelle Shen (Dallas, Texas) defeated junior Zubrinsky at No. 3 to even the match, 2-2. Shen rallied to take the opening set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (2), before cruising to a 6-0 win in the second. The Blue moved ahead 3-2 on the strength of a comeback victory by Libby Chang (San Marino, Calif.) at No. 2, as the Blue sophomore recovered from a 6-2 setback in the opening set of her match with Hatfield to earn back-to-back 6-4 victories and take the match.

Senior Selina Peng (Taichung, Taiwan) moved the Blue within a point of the victory with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Cepeda at No. 4. The match concluded just before the final point of a tremendous match-up at No. 1 singles, where Michaela Markwart (Hanover, Mass.) fell in three sets to Bertsch, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5. The win moved the Judges within one in the team score, 4-3.

Blue first year Dana Feng (Irvine, Calif.) clinched the match as the Blue cruised to victories in the final two singles matches to clinch the 6-3 win. Feng swept past Grace Wang (Clyde Hill, Wash.), 6-0, 6-0, while Hernandez earned a 6-3, 6-1 win over Quinn at No. 6 to complete the comeback.

Wellesley will open the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) season on Tuesday, March 17, when the Blue host Wheaton at 4:00 PM. Brandeis will host Endicott on Friday, March 13, at 3:00 PM.