No. 31 Brandeis slips away from Panthers in singles

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's tennis team dropped a close one to No. 31-nationally ranked Brandeis University (Mass.) by a team score of 6-3 at the Chapman Tennis Courts on Tuesday afternoon. After taking two of three in doubles, the Panthers lost five of six singles matches to fall to the Judges in a non-conference match.

The afternoon started well for Chapman (0-2 overall), which got a big lift on the No. 2 doubles court as junior Brett Buford and sophomore Charlie Werman upset the Northeast Region's No. 7-ranked Jeff Cherkin and Michael Arguello in a 9-8 (7-3) tiebreak decision. Freshman Justin P. Thompson and sophomore Sam Mitteldorf also earned their first win of the year on the third court to give the Panthers a 2-1 edge after pairs.

However, Arguello and the Judges rallied back by winning the first three singles courts in straight sets. Arguello, regionally-ranked in the Northeast, defeated Buford in a close match 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) on the No. 3 court and teammate Brian Granoff (ranked No. 17 in the Northeast) beat Chapman's No. 1 senior Justin Thompson 6-3, 6-4.

Chapman's lone singles win came on the No. 4 court from Werman who defeated Brandeis's Danny Lubarsky in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.

The Panthers return to the hard court on Friday, when they travel to Occidental College in a SCIAC match, looking for their first team win of the season. They come home Feb. 27 when they host Concordia University (Minn.) at the Chapman Tennis Courts at 1 p.m.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/mten/2014-15/files/bra-cu.htm

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