No. 29 Brandeis Knocks Off No. 22 RPI, 6-1
Adam Levin '94
The 29th-ranked Brandeis University men's tennis team earned its second top-25 victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, defeating #22 RPI, 6-1, at the Gosman Athletic Center. The win marks their first over the Engineers since 2019 and came thanks to several comeback wins.
TEAM RECORDS
- Brandeis: 7-3, ranked #29 in Division III
- RPI: 2-7, ranked #22 in Division III.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Brandeis secured a hard-fought doubles point by winning two of the three matches.
- First-year Muaz Malik (Dubai, UAE / Laurel Springs School) and junior Huasen Dong (Richmond Hill, Ont. / Richmond Green Second School) provided a strong start with a 6-2 win at #3
- Junior Pierce Garbett (Coral Gables, Fla. / Gulliver Prep) and first-year Oliver Lorenz (Albuquerque, N.M. / Rafa Nadal Academy) fell in a competitive 6-3 match at the top spot.
- Sophomore Aidan Wang-Fan (Richmond Hill, Ont. / Bill Crothers Secondary School) and first-year David Wang (Shanghai, China / Shanghai United International School) clinched the opening point for the Judges at #2 with a gritty 7-5 victory, coming from 5-1 down to win six straight games and give Brandeis the 1-0 lead.
- The Judges maintained their momentum in singles play, winning five of the six matches, including three three-setters.
- Garbett doubled the lead with a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Tasmay Shah, at #1.
- Lorenz delivered the first comeback among the singles matches, battling back to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, at #4.
- Malik followed with another three-set comeback, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 at #2, clinching the overall victory.
- Dong won the first three games at #3 before his opponent retired.
- Wang-Fan rallied from a set down to win 4-6, 6-1, 10-7 in a third-set tiebreaker for the Judges fourth comeback win of the match.
- Yaseen Houwari (Upper Brookville, N.Y. / Portledge School) dropped the final match of the day in yet another tight three-setter, 2-6, 6-2, 4-10.