Brandeis tennis has a lot to look forward to in the next three years. The Judges are proud to claim both the men and women's UAA Rookies of the Year in Sam Jonas '07 and Jennifer Krueger '07. Both were also selected for the UAA second-team along with teammate Shani Reich '07. Captain Abby Lerner '05 earned first-team honors. Krueger finished the 2004 season with an outstanding performance at the UAA championships on April 23 to 25 in Rochester, N.Y. She breezed through the competition, posting an undefeated record for the tournament. Playing best two out of three sets, Krueger's most intense competition came from Washington University's Kacie Cook who took Krueger to a first-set tiebreaker. Krueger finished off Cook easily in the third match with a final score of 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 against the Bears.

Krueger did not lose a set against opponents from the University of Chicago, Washington University and Carnegie Mellon. In doubles play, she and Reich proved to be an effective team, defeating the competition from Chicago 8-2 and from Wash. U and Carnegie Mellon 8-5.

Lerner also cruised past each of her opponents to become the only UAA first-team member not from conference champion Emory University. Even her toughest match against Wash. U's Laura Green was uneventful, ending in a decisive, 7-5, 6-3 final score.

As a team, the Brandeis women placed third in the conference. A convincing victory in the quarterfinals over Chicago (8-1) took them to the semis where they fell to Washington University. Tenacious play in the third-place match against Carnegie Mellon secured the Judges a 5-4 win.

On the men's side, Jonas' stellar play earned him a terrific upset on the first day of the tournament against the fifth ranked player in the nation, Mark Odgers of Emory University. Fans were on the edge of their seats as Jonas overpowered Odgers in the first set 7-5. Jonas led 5-2 in the early games of the second set, but Odgers managed to return the intensity and evened the score at 5-5. Jonas stepped up and took the 11th and 12th games to secure his second set victory against Odgers 7-5 for the lone Brandeis win over Emory.

"It was a great win for Sam and the team," Head Coach Rocky Jarvis said. "I would say it is the biggest single victory by a Brandeis men's tennis player in 15 years."

On the second day of the tournament, Jonas outplayed Vivek Venkataraman to help the Judges reach their 6-1 win over Chicago in the consolation bracket of the semifinals. Teammates Jamie Metrick '07 and Mike Vulfovich '07 also won their singles matches over Chicago. Vulfovich and Alan Berk '04 were in synch when they pulled out the 8-5 win at number one doubles despite a nagging injury that caused Berk some trouble. Metrick and Jonas also won their number two doubles match 8-1.

In the fifth place match, Jonas fell to tournament MVP Michael Thompson of New York University, 6-2, 6-0. Brandeis eventually submitted to NYU 2-4 to earn a sixth place finish in the conference.