On Sept. 12, the women's tennis season opened with a match at home against local rival Bentley College. The Judges performed with flying colors (most of which were of a neon green hue), and took the match 9-0.According to Coach Judy Houde, and apparent from the score, everybody played well against Bentley. In particular, Houde said she was impressed with first-year starters Shani Reich '06 and Sarah Weil '06.

"We have two freshmen who have broken into the starting lineups, and both of them won," Houde said. "We're looking for them to really contribute."

As for the rest of the team, Houde explained that it is comprised of "an excellent core of returning students." Headed by Jane Chae '05 and Abby Lerner '05, who are playing at the top of the singles and doubles lineups, and led by captains Vera Chen '03, Jill Croen '03 and Ariella Stoeber '03, the team is looking particularly competetive this year.

"This is certainly a team that has the potential to be, in my 30 years at Brandeis, among the top five," Houde said. "It's just a question of staying healthy and staying committed."

The Judges' Sept. 14 match at Bowdoin College proved to be more challenging than that against Bentley. The team experienced its first loss, by a score of 3-6.

Coach Houde explained, however, that Bowdoin is among the strongest of the teams that Brandeis encounters on this year's schedule, and that the score itself belies the the Judges' true accomplishments on the court

"Our matches were all tight sets," Houde said. "We were really in the match. It could have been reversed."

This trend of staggering wins and close losses has been a consistent one throughout the season. The Judges matched up against Connecticut College and Holy Cross two weeks ago. Brandeis came out on top against Connecticut by a score of 8-1, but lost to Holy Cross 4-5. The Judges quickly bounced back, however, in their Wednesday encounter with Simmons College. They executed a clean 9-0 sweep.

This particular match was a remarkable one, as Brandeis completely dominated the court in both singles and doubles play. In all, the Judges only let Simmons take two singles and three doubles games, an amazing feat to say the least.

This weekend, Brandeis sent its top two players, Chae and Lerner, to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association regional tournament held at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Although both players lost their singles matches in the first round, they performed quite impressively against top-ranked collegiate players. Chae's opponent from Amherst College took the match 6-4, 6-4, and Lerner's number one-ranked opponent from Williams won 6-4, 7-5. In doubles play, Chae and Lerner lost in a tie-breaker to a team from Wellesley College. Nonetheless, they were content with their level of competition.

Upcoming competition includes a matchup at home against MIT this Wednesday and another at home against NYU this Saturday. The team expects excellent results in both.